Shin troubles..

[sjones]

I have recently taken up running from a VERY low base. When I first started running I noticed some slight discomfort in my left leg and as I have increased my distance (now running around 10km per run) the pain has got progressively worse. So much so that when I attempted to go for an easy run last night (I ran on grass hoping to alleviate the shock on my leg) the pain was so bad I had to stop and limp slowly home. The pain (which is sort of located on the inside of my leg - kind of between the shin and muscle) is really noticable when running or when I add pressure to the area ie when I run my thumb up on the inside of my shin. A week's rest hasn't seemed to have helped either.

[Heidi]

Hi,

Sounds a lot like a case of shin splints i'm afraid!

The first things you need to do are:

Rest it from anything causing impact for at least 3 weeks
Apply ice after any period of walking/standing or other exercise
Get your feet and gait cycle analysed to check you do not overpronate or oversupinate and that you have the correct running shoes for your foot type and style
Stretch the muscles of the calf at least 3 times day
Visit a sports massage therapist for work on the calves and anterior shin muscles

You can get more info about the problem and advice about what you can do, how to stretch etc here:

http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/front/lowerleg/shinsplints.htm

Getting your feet and running analysed is the most important thing. No matter how much other work you put in, if you don't get any biomechanical problems sorted, when you return to running, the pain will just come back sooner or later!

I hope this helps and good luck

[sjones]

Thank you very much for your advice will take it word for word. I have a race in two weeks time unfortunately (so 3 weeks rest doesn't bode well).