FitSugar

RX For Shin Splints: Ice Massage

Susi May — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:39:21 PST

Shin splints are the bane of many new runners. The tight calves that accompany mileage increases can spell pain for the lower leg. If running causes any discomfort, take time off to allow your shin splints to heal. But you need not sit idle on the sidelines while you recuperate: ice massages help, too. A serious runner, my Equinox trainer reminded me of the healing combo of ice and massage to decrease the inflammation around the tibia (anatomy speak for shin), caused by this overuse injury. The technique is simple, but first you need to make the ultimate tool: the icing cup!

Make Your Own Icing Cup
Used in gyms and physical therapy clinics, an icing cup protects your fingers from freezing and provides a perfectly sized contact point for massaging troubled spots. Take six Dixie cups, fill them with water, and freeze. When it comes time to ice, peel back the paper and begin the massage.

The Massage
Starting by your foot, place your icing cup on the outside of your shin, on the tibialis anterior muscle. Making long strokes toward your knee, massage the muscle with an amount of pressure that feels good. Mix up your massage strokes and try small circular patterns, once again starting at the ankle and working up toward the knee. After five minutes of massaging, finish your 20-minute icing cycle with 15 minutes of static icing by placing an ice pack (or frozen peas or corn) on your shin. Aim to massage and ice twice a day.

If you're not up for an ice massage, you can always show your shins some foam roller love. Do keep stretching your calf muscles, and once the pain diminishes try these easy exercises to strengthen the tibialis anterior.

Training For a Marathon With Shin Splints

Fit Community — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 02:18:35 PST

It's marathon season, and FitSugar reader isureamheather has caught the bug. Unfortunately, she's a few weeks into her training program and experiencing those dreaded shin splints. She posted this question about how to deal in our RunningSugar group.

Hi all! I'm new to the group (hello!) and hoping some of you might have some advice. I've recently kicked up my running to start a 12-week half marathon training program. I'm really jazzed about it and the first two weeks went well (I'm up to the point where I'm running about 4 miles, but lower distances staggered throughout the week). However, I've started having terrible shin splints (which I haven't had since I first started running over a year ago) and they're awful. I even went so far as to pick up a new pair of sneakers (I was due), but it's barely helping. Any advice? Pre- or post-workout stuff I should be doing? Thanks for your help!
- Heather

Training for a marathon with shin splints? Ouch! Shin splints are the bane of runners everywhere - the injury frequently occurs in runners just starting out or those who make a change to their routine too quickly (like moving to a different surface, or starting out too fast after a period of inactivity). The crippling, shooting pain you feel around your shins can make it hard to do high impact activities, especially running. We're glad you went and bought supportive shoes already, since the correct pair of running shoes can go a long way in making sure you stay injury-free. Here are some more tips for you for managing your shin splints and preventing them from happening again.

5 Reasons to Love the Incline

Leta Shy — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 00:04:58 PDT

I know that I should embrace the incline while I'm running, but most of the time the thought of running hills and trudging along an angled treadmill fills me with unease. The more I think about it, though, the more I realize I should be loving the hills - and why you should, too. Here's why:

You'll burn more calories. There's a pretty big difference between a totally flat treadmill and one with a five percent incline - almost 100 calories in difference. Running uphill can burn major calories, and anything helps, so the next time you're on a run, try upping the incline on your treadmill a little bit, or finding a not-quite-flat route.
They help prevent shin splints. Running on flat or downhill ground can make you more susceptible to painful shin splints by putting pressure on your shinbones, but running uphill can alleviate that stress (just make sure you're careful when you're on your way down!)

More benefits of hill running after the break.

Hills, Inclines, and Shin Splints - Oh My!

FitSugar — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 08:30:51 PDT

If you run or hike, chances are high that you're familiar with shin splints. These micro tears in the lower leg muscle that attaches to the tibia (shin bone) most often occur from overuse - when you push yourself too hard, too soon. A calf muscle that's stronger than the muscles on the front of your shin makes you prone to this injury too.

We recently wrote that Jennifer Aniston pumps up the incline to maximize her treadmill time. The post prompted a reader to ask: "At what point or incline does this cause shin splints?"

Learn the answer when you

read more. Running with no incline on a treadmill or running or walking down steep declines can create shin splints due to extra stress placed on the shin bone. Running uphill is easier on your shins because you naturally push off the ground hard, so you end up using your hips more than your shins. If you're prone to shin splints and running outside, avoid routes that have steep downhill slopes and look for ones that are slightly uphill. If that's impossible to find, stick to the treadmill and pump up the incline. Also be mindful of where your foot strikes the surface first. If you're a heel striker, repeatedly keeping your foot in the flexed position can strain your shin. On the other hand, if you're a toe striker, constantly engaging your calf muscles can also lead to shin splints. Concentrate instead on striking midfoot. Hopefully these tips can help prevent the dreaded shin splints this season.

Know Your Injury: Shin Splints vs. Lower Leg Stress Fracture

FitSugar — Tue, 04 May 2010 11:00:51 PDT

I've officially said goodbye to my treadmill for the season and have been loving bringing my runs outside. My shins, on the other hand, have not been too psyched. I've been experiencing this shooting pain in my right shin when I run on the roads in my neighborhood. I assumed it was shin splints, since I've experienced them before in the Spring, but since I was only feeling it on one leg, a marathoner friend of mine suggested I see a doctor to rule out a stress fracture.

I freaked out a little, worried that I'd have to sideline my runs for a while, so I saw my doctor and learned the difference between the two running injuries. To find out if the pain you're experiencing is shin splints or a more severe injury, a stress fracture,

read more. Both shin splints and stress fractures are considered overuse injuries. Shin splints occur when you get small tears in the area where the lower leg muscle attaches to the tibia, aka the shin bone. You'll experience a shooting, aching pain in the front of your lower leg(s) when running, but the pain goes away when you lower your intensity, stop running, or after your run is over. When you suffer shin splints, you don't feel the pain with other activities like walking, stretching, or climbing stairs. Stress fractures, on the other hand, are caused by actual cracks or breaks in either of the bones in the lower leg, the tibia or fibula. If you suffer from this injury, you'll experience pain that's usually in the lower third part of the shin, tenderness or swelling in the specific injured area, and pain when you press on your shin. The pain doesn't subside when you stop running, and regular activities like climbing stairs or jumping will cause pain, too. If your pain injury sounds more like shin splints, take a gradual approach whenever making changes to your routine. When switching to different running surfaces, run shorter distances. When increasing your pace, try adding in sprint intervals to your regular routine rather than doing the whole run at a faster pace. And when increasing mileage, follow the 10 percent rule. When you do strength and flexibility training, pay special attention to your shins by doing this toe lift move and this gentle stretch. With a more severe stress fracture injury, see your doctor. They'll probably x-ray the area to check your bones. If they don't see a fracture, it doesn't mean there isn't one. The doc will x-ray you again later, and if they see that your bone is healing, they'll know you did indeed suffer a stress fracture. Unfortunately, they'll recommend you stop running and rest the area for six to eight weeks. You can do lower impact exercise like walking, swimming, deep water running, and weight training. If you don't rest your shins enough, the area may never heal properly. Once the pain begins to subside, you can start to work out. Just be sure to gradually build up time, distance, and intensity. Luckily for me, I just have shin splints, but have you ever suffered from stress fracture? How about shin splints? Tell me below.

Prehab: Exercises to Prevent Shin Splints

FitSugar — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 04:30:03 PDT

Shin splints are one injury that can stop you in your tracks. We posted about these injuries recently and an anonymous user shared this great injury-prevention workout in the comments.

One Summer, I trained with my sister's track team. Here's what the coach would have us do:

Walk one way on our heels with toes turned out
Walk on our heels with toes turned in
Walk on our toes with feet turned in, heels out
Walk on our toes with feet turned out, like a ballerina

We did this all a few times. Then, at the end, we would take off our shoes and socks and walk across the grass, pulling up grass with just our toes. Sounds weird, but it helped - and felt great after a workout.

I have done similar moves after a track workout. I would walk in each position for 20 to 30 feet, then switch positions and repeat the series for a total of three reps. It does feel great!

You Asked: Running and Shin Splints?

FitSugar — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 08:00:07 PDT

Hi Fit,
I recently switched to running on the road because the weather has gotten so nice where I live and frankly I was bored of treadmill. I'm loving the warm sun and fresh air, but I'm suffering from slight pain in the fronts of my lower legs. I'm pretty sure it's shin splints because I've had this before when I was a kid, but I'm wondering, is it bad to keep running? It's not that painful, and when it does hurt, I just stop, walk a little, and then start running again. I don't want to do anything to injure myself, but I also don't want to take a break from running because I'm training for a half marathon.
- Pained Jane

It seems like for many, Spring running and shin splints go hand in hand. I too have suffered from the shooting, aching pains of shin splints, and they sure can throw a wrench into a training plan. To find out if it's OK to run through the pain,

read more. Let's take a step back and discuss why you're experiencing the pain in the first place. Shin splints are small tears in the area where the lower leg muscle attaches to the tibia, aka the shin bone. The tears are caused from overuse, especially after periods of inactivity. Since running on pavement taxes your muscles more, you're definitely working harder than if you were on a treadmill. In runners, shin splints often occur because the calf muscle becomes stronger than the tibialis anterior, the muscle on the outside of the shin. Even though your shin splints may not hurt too much, it's still a minor injury, and if you continue to push yourself and run through the pain, you could end up up with more severe tears, and an injury that will have you sitting out that planned marathon. My advice is to take some time off from running and let those shins heal. That doesn't mean you have to stop all physical activity; just think of this as a good time to cross-train. Bike, swim, hike, walk, do yoga, and strength train to keep up with your cardio, to strengthen other muscles, and to maintain your flexibility. Doing certain exercises like heel walks around your house, toe lifts, and this seated shin strengthening exercise using a dumbbell will strengthen this area and prevent the dreaded shin splints once you start running again. Do also stretch your calves, even on days you don't exercise, and gentle shin stretches will help too. If resting doesn't help, make an appointment with your doctor to make sure it's not something more serious like a stress fracture. When your shins feel up to running again, ease into it. Keep the pace slow, the distance short, and avoid hills in the beginning since running and even walking downhill can irritate the area. Also, running with a heavy heel strike can irritate the shin. So it might be worth it to experiment with your gait and try striking with your mid-foot. Let your legs gradually acclimate to running outside rather than on the treadmill, and you'll soon have happy legs ready to conquer that 13.1 miles.

Prevent Shin Splints With Toe Lifts

FitSugar — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:30:05 PST

Since the weather is getting chillier, many of you might be moving your runs indoors. From my experience, switching running surfaces always takes some time to get used to, and shin splint pain has often been a symptom of adjustment. To prevent soreness in the front of your lower leg, here's an exercise recommended by Runner's World you can do any time you're sitting to strengthen your shins and increase flexibility.

The photo just demonstrates one exercise so to see a variation of the toe lift

Ways to Prevent Shin Splints

FitSugar — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 10:00:00 PDT

Spring running often means increasing the intensity of your workouts, but this vigorous approach can lead to shin splints. Aside from following the 10 percent rule, here are a few things you can do to prevent that nagging lower leg pain.

Stretch your lower legs. Keep your calves, feet, and ankles flexible. Stretch them daily, even if you don't run that day.
Warm up with heel walks: Heel walks, which as the name suggests involve walking on just the heels, strengthen the shins and prepare the lower leg for running. I do this as part of my dynamic warmup.
Strengthen your lower legs: On non-running days, or after a run, you can strengthen your shin muscles with this simple dumbbell exercise. Doing weight training for the shin muscles before a run could tire them out and lead to the injury you're working to avoid.

Since most running injuries seem to occur when increasing weekly mileage, it is a good idea to be proactive and do what you can to prevent injuries. Take care of your shins and they will take care of you.

Source

Have You Ever Had Shin Splints?

FitSugar — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 04:30:00 PST

Shin splints are an awful, jabbing, throbbing pain in your lower legs that's often caused by running, but people who hike, play basketball, or do other vigorous activities that involve your legs can also suffer from this piercing ailment. After making New Year's Resolutions to start exercising, many newbies experience shin splints, but changing up your routine, like switching to running on a treadmill after running outside, can bring them on too. Since it's a common issue, tell me . . .

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