Trying to minimize shin splints?

Nine_Lives

I suffer from shin splints & it's just a tad annoying.

I can't actually run any more (not advised at any rate) due to a knee op i had & the surgeons advice that followed, so what i do at the gym now is crank the treadmill up on an incline & stride. For any of you gym goers, my incline may be 8.0%-10.0% & the pace is about 5.7-6.2km/h. I still get bad shin splints doing this.

After a bit of reading, i found that wearing boots can contribute to this. Well, i'm in steel capped boots for 10 hours a day minimum. I can only imagine it being this because on a Sunday when i've not been at work in boots, i can do this at the gym with no problem whatsoever.

I've tried Sorbothane insoles to help cushion things, both in my trainers & boots. It helped (slightly) but i still get the problem.

Anyone able to help sort theirs?

mummypig321

Hi,
Ive just found out that if you go to a good sports shop they have a machine which you stand on and it looks at how your alignment of hips etc. Ive been told that they can then offer you inserts for your shoes to help with the alignment. my dance teacher swears by them, she was the one who told me about it, next time im in town im going to look into it, Inter sport apparently has this machine, to be tested is free but you buy the inserts for your shoes. my brother inlaw (physio) said this would help with my shin splits. Hope this helps.

Rapished

Hi bud had exactly the same as you, but I swapped my boots for a really good set of high quality ones still steel toe cap, I also paid attention to my posture and what part of my foot I was running on, touch wood they've never bothered me since and I got it bad.

Nine_Lives

If you're talking about gait analysis - then i've had this done. I bought a set of shoes that i was told suited my running style - this was back in the day when i could actually run. I have no inserts for them though.

My boots are the most comfortable i've ever had. They better had me too at £90 a set!! I've tried many other boots but they're all "too....". Too heavy, too tight, too thin a sole, too this, too that. The ones i'm currently wearing are very comfortable.

It's frustrating as all i'm doing is walking up a bit of an incline. I'm not even running. The shins then all seem to tighten up, then the sides & finally the rear leg. Bloody painful. So i have to really lower the incline & slow the speed down until my legs calm down.

jenniewb

To be honest OP, it doesn't sound like your running is causing this, it sounds like your normal daily steel-toe-cap daily footwear is causing the shin splints.

As far as shin splints go, its about impact and about your muscles growing faster then the other organs which support the ligaments for those muscles, so warm up SLOWLY, this may even mean warming up and then pausing for a little while (5 mins) then going back and re-warming up again and doing this a few times before launching into a full run or exercise regime.

As far as running footwear goes, there are two schools of thought. One is about padding your footwear to reduce impact but if you find this isn't helping and your finding that you stamp whilst you walk, try looking into barefoot style but ONLY when you are fully healed. Barefoot running has your feet feel the floor and helps you curb stamping as it wont feel so great stamping on bare feet but obviously you need to be all mended first or your just risking injury. The reason I mention bare-foot style is that this was the only technique which stopped my tibia stress fracture from returning, padded shoes just taught me to stamp more. But everyone is an individual and you have to find what works for you.

Rest well, sleep well, eat well and add in a little protein to help your body repair. Sports massage can help as it boosts circulation to the area which is basicly what will help heal the most.

Exercise wise there are things you can do to help so when you return to running or whatever you choose to do, the impact of the sport is shared across your body rather then just all taken up by your legs. Train your core as much as you can and learn to use all of your body to move rather then isolating movement to just your legs and feet. Even your arms and back play a part, learn to use all of your body to move. This is one thing which seems to naturally happen when you run in a barefoot style, you find your knees bend more and you use your core to stabilise yourself rather then your ankles.