Shin Splints?

[deckyrd]

So my boxing gym is closed for september and I dont have access to a treadmill right now so I tried running on the streets to get my roadwork in and my shins are absolutely KILLING ME after only a few blocks. I tried running on a track, thinking it would be softer/easier and it hurt almost as much. I tried "ninja running" (up on my toes/balls of my feet) and it eased the pain a little bit, but overall I'm now afraid to try hitting the streets again. I want to keep my cardio workouts going while the gym is closed (gotta lose those 20 pounds for my fight!) and I jump rope for my warmup, but I want to run...

So what can I do and/what should I do?

Thanks!

[Loren Wade]

Foam Roller. Saved my life.

True story.

[lostintranslatn]

Do you have a bike? Does it hurt your shins, too?

[Jon Umber]

Stretch the everloving doodoo out of your calfs. Ice your shins. Take NSAIDs.

[Hermione Gainser]

What if you did other cardio? Bikes, etc.. good, good... But what about cardio bursts: box jumps, jumping jacks, high knees, mountain climbers, skiers, etc... that will get your heart going but when done in bursts it's much more like a fight than a run. 3-4 min bursts, 30-60 second rest, rinse and repeat.

[Jon Umber]

Also, kettlebells.

[deckyrd]

Yeah, sounds like I'm gonna have to dust off my bike and fix it up again and download a countdown timer on my iphone.

Thanks for the suggestions, all! Guess I just needed confirmation on what I was already thinking/anticipating.

By the way, what are foam rollers?

[smedly]

Shin splints happen. You either learn to tolerate them and run through them and try to minimize the pain or try something else out. All I know is that they suck.

[andygates]

Shin splints especially happen if you try to run too far too fast. If you just slap on a pair of sneakers and bash out the miles, you'll get 'em for sure. Especially if you're a big guy. Especially especially if you don't stretch (there's a great one for shins: kneel with your feet and shins flat on the floor under your arse, then lean back slowly, and it streeetches that front-of-shin stuff really nicely).

If you can't get rid of them while still running, REST. Take a couple of weeks off running, take it as a lesson learned, and go spin the turbo bikes instead. Shin splints ease off when you run, and many a runner has thought that means they're good to go. No. That means they've found an evolutionary adaptation to keep on going right now, only to explode in giblets later.

[heywo]

I know that one of my friends has had great success using a shin brace/pad for his shin splints when we play ultimate frisbee. Apparently it has worked really well for him, although I'm curious as to why it would stop the splints from occurring.

For me, I'm not really sure what happened, but I used to get horrible splints after about an 20-30 minutes of running. Like, stop running and cry in a corner kind of pain. For most of the year I just worked through it, then I suffered from knee injuries from broomball and took a while off of running. When I picked it up again this summer, I immediately went with Vibrams because I typically do a lot of barefoot running around anyways. Since moving to Vibrams, I haven't had any issues whatsoever. It's kind of startling for me - but now my runs are usually about an hour in length and I feel fantastic afterwards.

But yes, I would recommend maybe just easing yourself into running and see if your legs adjust. Stretch mid-run (wouldn't recommend before). When I run on the streets I like to occasionally do a few stretches while at a stoplight or something if traffic makes me stop there. Experiment and find what works for you!

[The Purple Diane]

Stretch the everloving doodoo out of your calfs. Ice your shins. Take NSAIDs.

I'd watch out for the NSAIDs... they can mess up your attempts to gain muscle: http://nerdfitness.com/community/showthread.php?4903-kelly-starrett-(mwod-guy!)-on-ibuprofen