Shin pain after running...any advice?

Hi all,

Am trying to improve my excercising by changing from walking fast on an incline on the treadmill to adding in some running on a flat gradient.

However, am experiencing some pain down the front of my shins afterwards.

Have had a 'rest' day - but they still feel sore to touch.

Any advice? Really don't want to stop the running as have heard this is the best method for weight-loss....

I don't know how dedicated you are to being able to run pain free, but one of the best things you can do is to strengthen those muscles down the front of your leg (and working the calves helps too).

Walk around on your heels until you feel a burning sensation along the front of your shins. If this is too easy, I REALLY suggest getting a theraband. Tie it around the leg of a table and slide your foot into the loop. Then flex your foot against the resistance to work on strength. This exercise can also be modified to work the sides of the shin and the calf.

Do calf raises. Make them harder by doing them off of a step. Add weights.

I also had one doctor who told me he's read studies that correlate weak hip flexors (the muscles that run across the front of your hip joint) with a tendency toward shin splints. So you might want to strengthen those as well.

I hope this helps! I had a long painful experience with a tibial stress fracture (which develops out of shin splints) so unfortunately I know a lot about this topic.

OH and I almost forgot. Always use at least 1% incline on the treadmill. This is probably the best advice I've ever gotten. It really helps. And make sure you're posture is good (that you're not learning back) and that you really roll through your heel before you push off with your toe.

Ok, I'm done now. Good luck :)

Wow...cabaret gave you some really good advice.  However, you might also want to check your shoes, more importantly the insoles of your shoes.  I too have suffered from full fledged shin splints when I was younger and a physical therapist watched me walk and suggested that I get a running shoe that was good for a slightly pronated foot.  I was first told to not run for 6 wks to give the muscle fibers around the shin time to heal.  I took off about 4 wks, bought some new shoes and have had only a little soreness in my shins after hard workouts over the last 15 yrs or so.  The stretching exercises that cabaret suggested are also very helpful. 

You may want to take it easy for a couple of weeks.  Try swimming if you have to exercise.  If you develop true shin splints, you are going to be sidelined for a long time.

Just my opinion.  Good luck... 

yup... gdawk is right--sounds lke shin splints, most often caused by your shoes or running on hard surfaces...have you thought about doing trail running off the tredmil? The dirt/grass is SOOO much better for your legs.

Ice them everyday AFTER you workout..this will reduce the swelling. other than that, shin splints are kinda chronic, meaning they can go away and come back over and over again. Dont wrry, though, i had a bad case last year and this year I am fine!

good luck with your running ! dotn give up its one of the most rewarding sport

Always do a full set of stretches after you run. Never skip. I understand that there are some new "dynamic stretches" that are better than the static stretches we did years ago when I was running. Stretch the front, back sides of your legs and torso.

Do strengthening exercises to counter balance the muscles that develop when you run. That means: work on your abs because if you don't your lower back will start to hurt.

The best way to run is to develop a cross training routine of weights and floor exercises to keep you loose and  strong. Shin splints are the bow-shot that you are not doing a balanced routine. The good news is that all of these things use up calories, make you look great, and extend your running career!

You will have to give up running on a treadmill for some weeks in order to heal - otherwise you will (guaranteed) end up with a tibial stress fracture - and then you'll be out of commission for a couple of months. But don't worry - you can always do water jogging if you have access to a pool.  Most pools have jogging belts.  BTW it's HARDER than jogging on a treadmill because of all of the water resistance.  If you don't belong to a gym w/a pool, you can probably purchase a temporary membership until your shinsplints heal.  Remember: shinsplints only get worse if not treated properly!

when suffering from shin splints RICE

Rest

Ice

Compression

Elevation

Dont aggrevate those shins-build up to it. when they are flaring up do cross train with activities that dont aggrevate it even further

Thanks all for your advice! Will give it a go! :-)

Hi,

I am also a verteran tibial stress fracture and it was the most intense horrible pain ever with a 11 month recovery period before I could run.

You want to get down the inflammation - so if you can take ibuprofen. It will help and ice often. It sucks but it works.

There are compression socks that are supposed to work well but I have not used them.

I now have "running rules" to avoid injury:

1. No consecutive days of running (ok, i do break this rule 1x per week so I can get in 4X / week and get my mileage up)

2. Run only on trails if I can possible do it.

3. Ice afterwards if I have any pain

4. Stretch my hips, calves and shins after running (NOT BEFORE) - you might want to go to someone to learn how to stretch them

5. increase mileage only 10% / week.

so far for 1 year I have been injury free.

Take care.