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I need a cure for shin splints!
I am dying. Making it through my measly 2 mile run tonight was brutal.
Any tips for shin splints or should I just run through it?
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Re: I need a cure for shin splints!
ice. a lot.
Shin splints are usually a muscle imbalance between your gastroc (calf) and anterior tib.....so you need to strengthen the ant. tib.
Best exercise is standing backwards on step with you heels only on the step, then raise/lower your toes. or sit (longsitting) and have someone loop an exercise band around your toes and you pull your toes toward you.
also make sure you're not running on tapered surfaces (side of road) or be sure to change directions if you run on a track.
RICE
Rest
Ice
Compression
Elevation
That is what my cross country coach always told us. Do shin stretches (sitting in the floor when your legs out in front of you point your toes forward, then back towards you). Ice massage your shins.
Anyway you can run on gravel? That was what we had to do when we started complaining of shin splints. Granted, we lived in small town, Kansas, so it wasn't hard!
Be sure you're stretching sufficiently and warming up (SLOWLY) before exercising. Also, be sure you're super hydrated. Dehydration is the #1 culprit for cramps. Eat a banana. Cramping is also caused by low potassium levels.
After exercising, massage, iburprofen and ice are your friends. Ice your shins for about 15 minutes and then massage. If you're still sore the next day, take a day off or do a lower impact/intensity workout.
Shin splints SUCK.
Advil helped me.
Are you running on your toes? I used to get the worse shin splints EVER after running. They were so bad, I could feel my shins *quaking* whenever I approached the track. One day, some random guy stopped me and asked if I hurt my shins while running and I said yes. He told me he noticed I was running on my toes, something I have never realized about myself before. Make sure you run heel-toe-heel-toe, not toe-heel-toe-heel. 10 years later, I still have to concentrate and make a conscious effort to ensure I was running heel-toe. It just doesn't come naturally to me.