Building back to training?!

[maritime_marine]

I had shin splints 3-4 weeks ago and after 2-3 weeks the pain went and they felt okay. So i did a 3miler and got 20.52, then another an got 20.37 and then some 300 meter sprints what totalled around 4-4.5 miles or so.

I did'nt have any pain at all until the day after the sprints. Ive stopped running again and been doing some exercises/stretchs. I fear that i went straight back into training to hard and thats why it flared up again. Im running on concerete because there arnt any big enough grass places near me but im using asics trainers so they are well protected.

The pain has basically gone now, im going to wait until its not hurting at all but i was wondering how i should build up my running again?

Cheers Maritime_Marine

[ChrisBell]

I had and still have shin splints to a small degree. Basically use your common sense and just build up gradually so for instance run once/twice a week then up the distance then more runs a week. Or one day on one day off or another good way is run for say 4mins then walk 4mins and variations of this technique. Hope one of these works for you, good luck!

[euro_andrew]

Just becareful mate, because It only really gets worse.

as I have found the more you run on it the worse it gets.

[jammin87]

This may not be relevant to you, but, just because your trainers are asics, which are without a doubt of good quality, doesn't mean they are suited to you. Different people's bodies work in different ways, and your feet are no different. You need to have someone look at your feet and your running step and get a trainer for that type. It's a misguided conception that the more expensive a trainer is the better it is for you. As I said this may not be relevant to you, but may be useful to others reading the post.

[hobbsy]

Just make sure you ice them after every work out while their healing. It seemed to help for me, i only really get them from skipping though, so i just stopped skipping.

[maritime_marine]

How long do you use ice for? Ive been doing that exercise where ur back is on the wall and you lift your toes, thats burning so i presume its working. I was thinking of doing 1 3miler a week to start but at a slightly slower pace. Then every 1-2 weeks increase the runns or distance.

By doing hill sprints are you more likerly to get them?

[euro_andrew]

Im currently seeing a pysio.

He said along the lines of:

- when icing to do it after running for 10 mins then 10 mins on the hour every hour for a few hours to stop swelling.

- Do not heat it up ie. take a hot bath, because it will enflame it.

- just building up your shins will not make a huge difference unless you know that small shin muscles are the things that are causing problems.

My pysio said those excersizes wont make much difference to me because I have alrady well developed shins and I am to current build up my arches as they are the problem.

- Also hill sprints can be one of the main things that cause shin splints.

hope this helps.

[jamescarr]

Have you considered over the counter insoles or custom orthotics, i too have suffered from shin splints in the past, i opted for custom orthotics as i over pronate slightly. There expensive but worth every penny, and i can happily run pain free

[maritime_marine]

I dont know much about all the foot shapes and everything, is there a way to find out if im running bad? It only really started when i did some hill sprints but i would like to include them.

maybe i should add only a few after a usual run.

Ill try then ice methord, is a physio worth it?

[euro_andrew]

Yeah it is probably what caused it. Hill sprinting and pushing you self to hard is what causes them.

As has been suggested before, look up a running shop called Natterjacks.. They are a good running shop who can tell you what is wrong with your running. If you have to money to spend go and have one session with a pysio to see what is going on.

To answer your question if a psyio is worth it.. once hes fixed mine ill tell ya! lol

[jamie534]

Pushing yourself too hard isn't a good idea. I haven't trained properly for like a month (due to Christmas laziness) and today i went right into doing my 2.4km in about 8 minutes. It's amazing how such a short period of time can make such a difference, i felt like i was going to be sick afterwards

[Spence]

After any injury time should be spent slowly returning to fitness. Even only running one mile once or twice a week may be too much depending on the type of injury.

As for physios and podiatrists, there is no need to fork out. You go to your GP and ask to be refered to a physio/podiatrist on the NHS, this is what I did and I got top quality service, I even got corrective insoles. Essentially for free (we still have to pay, but through and such).

Your GP may try and fob you off, offer you some form of NSAIDs and suggest you take two weeks off, but if you explain your situation then that should push things along a bit.


Spence[/b]

[Macca]

hi everyone, i had shin splints bout 4-5 weeks ago now and i was bit worried about it cuz my PJFT was coming up so phoned my AFCO up and told them about it and they told me to cancel my test and gave me some tips on what i should do on how to help cure it, they gave me the ice methods and the exercices you can do such as having your back against the wall lifting yours toes up and so on, but the marine i spoke to also said use some "Deap Heat" cream on your legs where the pain is (i was never a fan of using these creams) and all it does is relax your muscle during exercise and after so it stops the pain during a run and after a run aswel, so i gave it a go and i cud feel the effects on my first run . The marine also said that it wont cure it, you still need to ice your legs and do the exercises but it just allows you to strengthen your shins without feeling the pain and allows you to run comfortably, and so far its doing a dam fine job for me because i can now run with no pain at all

[maritime_marine]

Thats good to hear, any chance that you could pass the ice methords and the exercises on? I know about the one with the back to the wall, and a stretch where ur basically in a incline press upposition.

[Macca]

i had bad shin splints bout 4-5 weeks ago so i phoned up my AFCO and told them bout it and the marine i spoke to told me how to help cure it by giving me the ice methods and the wall exercises you can do and so on, but he also said that i should give "Deap Heat" cream ago (i was never a fan of using these creams on ma legs) so i thought i'd give it ago. He said all it does is make your muscle feel as though its relaxed during and after execise such as running, but you still need to do the icing methods and the strength exercises but this cream just helps you to run without pain wich allows you to crack on with good long runs. it did i fine job with me as i could feel the effects of it on my first run, i didnt feel no pain so i was amazed with it if your interested in the stuff its called Deap heat wich you can get from the chemist

cheers
macca