So, for about a week now i've been having (and mentioning in the running thread) a tighness in my calves and shins, well for the last 3 days it has become more concentrated to a pain in my medial tibia. its not muscle pain, its shin splints.
i have a fairly easy exercise routine involving 3 days or 30 min walk/jog routine + 2 days dynamic toning. normally the pain goes away before my next workout starts and i can tolerate it throughout, but it has been lingering longer and longer. And I'm worried a Dr. visit is in the works.
Any advice??? Anything that works would be appreciated!
you need orthotics (which is what the doctor will tell u) to redistribute where the pressure is when you ru that is causig the tendonitis. For exacmple, I have RIDICULOUSLY high arches, which causes me to have tendonitis in my POSTerior tib tendon. Orthotics support my arches annd have been tremendously helpful.. You can also try working on your stride. You probably HEEL strike pretty hard when you run (most of us do!) Try landing on the balls of your feet, with your feet underneath you, almost using your arches as a "spring". Good luck!!
PS-- you can ice tendonitis till you are blue in the face but it wont make a difference--except maybe immediate relief, and then it will be back next time you run/walk
I agree with mkroyer that maybe you need different shoes - did you get fitted at a good running store? And how old are your shoes? Shoes are always my first guess when people have these issues. If you already have good shoes that should be working for you, then it's probably worth seeing the doctor. But if you don't, shoes might be all it takes to fix the problem (it was for me). (Wow, how many times did I just say "shoes" in one paragraph?!?)
I know most people don't have a lot of options, but are you running on the softest surface you can? Dirt paths > asphalt > concrete.
I took a running class with a track coach in college, and he said that ice and/or anti-inflammatories before a workout can actually help while you're recovering... it helps with the pain, obviously, but it also relieves some of the pressure so there's less friction and re-irritating the injury.
I used to get really bad shin splints to the point I couldn't run... Now, I will get them, but not nearly as bad. I went to my local running store and get fitted for shoes - that helped the most! I guess I am an overpronator (my ankles roll in, basically) so it gives more support to my arch so that it doesn't collapse as badly. Also, it was only my left shin that was bothering me recently, so I popped a couple of 200mg ibuprofen before I ran one day and it made a world of difference so you might want to try that.
Other than that, there's no way to 'cure' shin splints... To help them feel better, you ice and elevate. You can try compression too, but that's more difficult if you're moving quite a bit. I have an ottoman at home and when mine used to get bad, I would lie on the floor and bend my legs at my waist and my knees so that my calves were flat on top of the ottoman like...
o__/--- (hope that looks right, haha) and then set ice packs on my shins... That way I could watch tv or a movie or something while they were resting.
Edit: Also, you can work on stretching your calf muscles more, they say that a cause could be a tight calf muscle.
I could never get a running or even walking program going due to shin splints that would never go away. This time, I think yoga made a huge difference. The standing poses really strengthened my shins, ankles and feet.
Ouch! Shin Splints
