Shin Splints...Any help??

Hi! I've been working out for about four weeks now, but this past week or so I've really had increasingly bad shin splints. They usually go away after icing and elevation for a while. My routine includes sets of jumping jacks, jumping rope, jogging, floor exercises, squats/lunges. I haven't changed up my routine this past week, so my question is, does anyone know why they just randomly set in after 4 weeks?

Also, I was talking to a friend about them, and she said there's not much I can do, that they will be with me forever and can even lead to a stress fracture. True?!? I'm taking the day off today and will start light tomorrow, but I really don't want them to hamper my workouts and weight loss, which were going so well. Anyone dealt with this before or have any advice? Did you just work through it or switch up your routine? Any help would be great. Thanks! 

My hubby suffers from chronic shin splints...thanks to all the PT the Army puts him thru. When his start to hurt he usually goes in to the medics and get a profile (meaning less PT) - and usually has no running/jumping/marching for 2-4 weeks, and walk at own pace/distance during that time. then his recovery is twice as long as the profile (4-8 weeks).

good luck....yes it can lead to stress fractures if you dont get it treated or if you  ignore it.

suggestion: get an ace bandage for each leg and wrap you legs (ankle to below knee), kinda tight (but dont cut off your circulation), and take it easy (wear these when you arent working out or up and about a lot)....this will help keep the muscle closer to the bones to help from separating (which is what the shin splints does-its the muscle separating from the bone).....

You are doing a lot of high impact stuff with the jumping jacks rope and jogging.  I have shin splints and I can't do any high impact stuff without pain- I would switch to elliptical if at all possible or swimming or something less of impact to the legs.  Give them time to heal -- going to take longer than a day or 2 .  Also stress fractures are very common with shin splints.

I suffered from shin splints when I took up jogging, they set in after a few weeks and struggled to get rid of them. The following helped for me :-

Get proper running shoes. any good running store will video you on a treadmill to see your running technique to ensure you get the right shoes

I used to land on my heel first when running. This is well known to cause shin splits. I changed my technique to running on the balls of my feet and I have never had shin splints since.

They can lead to stress fractures IF you keep irritating them and dont let them heal. And yes they WILL heal if you tone down the activity for a while.  It really really is important to let them heal properly though.  I've had them before and they are NASTY! Google and read up on some info about them.

let them heal! your shin splints sound pretty bad and could definitely lead to stress fractures.  you are only aggravating them and making them worse each time you do such high impact activities so you need to give your shins a rest- do some low impact workouts like swimming and elliptical.

 

i used to suffer from major shin splints from running- then i decided to give myself an exercise makeover- i went to a running store and got properly fitted for sneakers- and it turns out i was wearing my running shoes too small. you may need to go up a size.  also changing your form helps, i agree.  running on the balls of your feet is best.  also, STRETCH before and after.  do lots of calf stretches. i also find just kind of rolling around my ankle helps alot too.

 

ive been doing a running regimen for 6 weeks and have not had a SINGLE shin splint since getting my new sneakers and stretching properly- this is amazing considering i used to get shin splints after running only one time!

I had pretty bad shin splints for the longest time and then one day I was running around the track and this angel appeared in the form of a running coach (lol) and I was telling her about them and she told me how to stretch to relieve them. You squat down so you are sitting on the heels of your feet and lean back and forth - putting your  knees toward the floor and then come back up and just keep rocking back and forth (you will feel it working). It happens because the tendons and muscles get so tight around the bone. So, the stretching helps to relieve it. I started doing this stretch before and after my run and I haven't had a problem since. If my description of the stretch doesn't make sense let me know and I will try to help. Good luck to you.

I agree with trying the elliptical. I do it for 45-1 hr a day and it doesn't hurt my shin splints at all. Thanks goodness.

You can help by:

Good Shoes.

Good PRE and POST stretching.

Keeping your legs warm. Cold weather aggravates the condition.

I agree with everyone about the good shoes.  Having the right shoes makes a big difference. 

I found that when I jog on a track or outside I get shin splints, but on a treadmill I don't.  Not sure why, but I think maybe the treadmill is lower impact (more cushioned) and it makes a huge difference to me. 

Thanks for all the advice everyone! I will definitely work on paying extra attention to stretching my calves and lower legs. For now I'm taking it easy for a few days with lots of R.I.C.E., then I plan on giving the elliptical a go. 

In two weeks I move back home so hopefully I can get some helpful advice on whether or not my shoes/arches are part of the issue from places around my city. Again, thanks for all the help, you guys are all awesome.

 

As so many people have said, rest and heal first. Another exercise to consider, on top of all the great suggestions here would be rowing. Everyone thinks that Concept 2 rower in the gym looks pretty wimpy - but I double dog dare you to do 20 minutes on one at full effort - if you can. Rowing is the unsung hero of cardio.

One thing to consider on the mechanics of shin splints. A lot of research and discussion is starting to point to our old tried and true "heel to toe" running style. The heel is a stopping device (i.e. digging your heels in). While it initially feels less intuitive - you may want to try lifting your heels when you run, as in moving the load of your stride more forward on your foot. I began doing forefoot running (technically called the POSE method) a month ago. I don't have a hint of a shin splint (and I'm very prone to them), my running mechanics are 100% better and I get a heck of a workout. Watch the top marathoners - you won't find a single one that is a hard heel striker; in fact, most of them look like they are floating on the balls of their feet.

Stay safe,

Rb

Aaahh, something I know about. I had shin splints. I ignored them thinking that they would go away. They did when I ran really fast so I sped up all the time. BTW, I don't recommend it. Then they said I had tendonitis and had me take naproxen for 5 weeks and rest. STill my leg hurt. Then finally I fired my ortho when I could not walk - yes, a radial tibial fracture that had been a minor stress fracture. It took me a YEAR to get back to running.

My advice - DON'T CHANCE IT!  My leg break was the worst pain that I had ever felt (I have never had a child so sorry can't compare it to child birth!)

Stop running, find a low impact sport exercise until they heal. Get properly fitted for shoes.

Even now, I can not run on the road and I am a trail runner - yes even through the mud, snow, etc. I can run only every other day.

Even 1 1/2 years after the break they did another bone scan as I was complaining that my leg still hurt and my leg break still showed up.

Hope this helps. I understand the desire in the short term but think about the long term. Also, my husband has had them on and off for 30 years so he swears they do just miraculously go away.

 

 

If they don't get better you might see an orthopaedic and get tested for compartment syndrome.  My daughter plays soccer and thought she had shin splints, but the sports trainer told us to have her checked for compartment syndrome and that is what it was.

Compartment syndrome is often mistaken for shin splints.  Look it up on the internet and you can see if your symptons match.

Now then - I have been suffering from very painful shin splints indeed.  I was doing really well with my running and decided that I could push myself more - my body was able to cope on a fitness level, unfortunately though my legs weren't.  I doubled the intensity and time of my training over night - BIG MISTAKE, very soon I was in big trouble.  I read all the advice, took about a week off, iced, rested, elevated and compressed and felt fine.  I did all the right things but when I went back, I went back at full pelt - WRONG!

My shin splints became so bad that I had to consult a sports physio (who is wonderful!).  He took one look and said at best you have very bad shin splints - at worst - stress fractures.  He told me not to panic(!).  The cure is basically the same for both.

I started on a regime as follows:

Ice pack 3 times a day for 10 minutes for 3 weeks - when I say ice pack I dont mean a bag of frozen peas or the gel filled pouches you pop in the freezer.  I mean a pillow case, filled with circa 15 ice cubes, crushed.  Twist the pillow case to make a little pouch of ice and run it under the tap - wet packs conduct the cold better.  Try it - it soooooo works.

Oruvail gel 3 times a day for 10 days.

No 'impact' exercise for 3 weeks.

After 3 weeks I returned - yes I felt a lot better but after various exercises set by the physio it was soon established that there was still some pain there so NO - I am still not ready to go back to running but can cycle and swim.  In fact my physio reccommends that you mix it up in terms of variety in any case (I only used to run - have since bought a bike too).

So, the advice now is to carry on with the icing, ditch the gel and introduce some basic exercises.  Sit on the edge of the bed, feet off the floor, knees bent, point the foot forward and backwards slowly, reapeat the exercises with legs straight.  Start off 3 times a day doing 5 repetitions of each at a time, Slowly add one more repetition evry day. 

Exercise by all means but eliminate the exercise that causes the pain i.e. the impact of the running until the pain has completely gone away.

I can start to introduce walking back into my regime finally after 4 weeks of following the advice this weekend but only for 5 minutes, ice, two days rest, add 2.5 minutes to the next session, ice, two dyas rest and so on.  It is a very very long process and you must heed the advice.  Shin splints can be crippling.

Remember, you can do alternative exercise whilst you are healing so dont be too disheartened (although I know it does get you down!).

Hope this advice helps you through the misery and the pain and good luck!!