Shin Splints

[Bronco1]

Ok, I've got to know if there are others out there that are affected by shin splints. Obviously playing surface has something to do with it, but I'm wondering what others have done to get rid of this nagging pain coming from my shins. Any suggestions?

[bste_lax]

All you can really do is putting ice on them. The only real way to get rid of them is wait til the end of season and not run or play lacrosse for a while. I use to run cross country and when you got them, it sucked. All you can do is ice and rest.

[dubbs11]

The term shin splints refers to a painful condition that develops along the inside (medial edge) of the shin (tibia). The usual location is along the lower half of the tibia, anywhere from a few inches above the ankle to about half-way up the shin. The repeated running cycle of pounding and push off results in muscle fatigue, which may then lead to higher forces being applied to the fascia, the attachment of fascia to bone, and finally the bone itself. Respectively, this represents a spectrum from mild to severe. On the relatively more severe end of the scale the injury may progress from stress reaction within the bone to an actual stress fracture.

In the early stage of shin splints a runner will describe a pain that is present when the training run first begins, but then disappears as running continues. The pain will often return after exercise or the following morning. As the injury progresses the athlete will experience more time with the pain, and less time without it. There is frequently a tender zone along the medial edge of the tibia that one can map out by pressing with the fingertips as they “march up” along the bone. Eventually, if ignored and training continued, the pain may become quite sharp and may focus on a very small area of the bone. If this happens a stress fracture should be considered.

The treatment for shin splints is rest. Depending upon severity it is often necessary to completely stop running for a period of time. Generally this is done until day-to-day activities are pain free. When running is resumed – and this is where many injured runners make a mistake – it must be significantly different from the routine that lead to the injury. The concept of relative rest employs lengthening the interval between training as well as decreasing the volume and intensity of training. One can often substitute cross-training activities (e.g., bicycling) for running to help increase the interval between running days. There should be a graded and gradual increase in run training, keeping an eye out for the return of any shin splint symptoms.

Stretching and strengthening the calf muscles can help prevent the injury from returning. However the most important preventive strategy is not to repeat the mistakes that lead to the injury. Examine all the training variables – surface, shoes, training volume, intensity, workout type, hills, weather conditions, etc. Seek help from a qualified trainer or coach. This all takes time and effort, but it is well worth it.

- http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/shin.html

On that website there are also recommended stretches one can do. Personally when I had them, I got rid of them by incorporating more calf muscle lifts on leg days. Hope that helps.

[Tim Gray]

A good Physical Therapist or Athletic Trainer can help you treat the condition, or at the very least keep it under control until after the season. Treatments such as ultrasound, electical stimulation, deep tissue massage and ice can decrease your symptoms, until you are able to truely rest after the season.

[Hackalicious]

Stretching can help. Sit down, have another person hold down your toes, then give you resistance as you lift your toes up. Then have them push forward on your toes and try to straighten out your foot.

Another good thing to do is to build up your muscles (preferably in the off-season). Tie a weight around your foot and lift it.

Also, stand with your back and heels flat against a wall and try to lift your toes up.

[AlumniLax]

McDavid or some similar named company (Search the net) sells a neoprene sleve that fits over the calf and shit that squeezes the two together. it lessons the pain and works great. also, that company sells a medicated version as well.

[Danny Hogan]

get a drywall bucket, fill it 1/2 with ice 1/2 with water, dunk it for as long as you can stand, switch legs, repeat.

[Daniel Morris]

get a drywall bucket, fill it 1/2 with ice 1/2 with water, dunk it for as long as you can stand, switch legs, repeat.

Hogan is right. I used to get really bad shin splints in college. Just touching my legs was agonizing. The trainer would tape up my legs before every game and practice and that helped, but ice worked as well. The best thing to help them was orthodics in my shoes. Insurance should cover them, they get pretty pricey, but made a world of difference. Don't pound the legs like I used to on hard astroturf, so I don't have the problems I once did, but the combination of ice, tape, and the orthodics alleviated most of the pain...but not all of it.

[Larsen]

I agree with the arch support. My understanding (and don't ask me for sources) is that there is a muscle that attaches at the arch and runs up the side of the foot and the shin. When the arch does not have sufficient support, the muscle is stressed and the problems begin to arise as the muscle attachment higher up on the shin is stressed. This could of course be a load of crap but it sounds plausible.

Unfortunately I never had much luck with treatment, other than sucking it up and waiting till the end of the season. I don't know if this is the case for anyone else, but when i used to get them i was fine while i was running but they hurt like hell as soon as i stopped and walking was incredibly painful.

Fortunately pacing the sidelines isn't so hard on the feet.

[Gary Robinson]

Ibuprofen and lots of it...

[Tim Gray]

All of these are good ideas, but what you need to do is find out what is causing the shin splints. Shin Splints can be caused by a multitude of reasons from "flat feet" to a muscle imbalance in your calf/shins, even a muscle imbalance in your hips can cause them. I've treated many patients with "shin splints" as well as had them myself, and unless you can correct the cause, they'll come back. These other ideas, however may be able to allow you to get through the season.

[OAKS]

definitely get them treated though... they will develop into stress fractures if you wait long enough. a teammate of mine had about 45 microfractures in each leg after a xc season.

another good stretch is to find a wall and stand about three to four feet from the wall facing out. place your hands on the wall behind your back, and slowly lower yourself, keeping your feet in the same place and keeping your toes down on the ground (have someone hold them if you need).

[CSUalum32]

After i broke my leg about a year ago my orthopedic told me to use insoles to reduce the amount of pressure to my lower leg. I am guessing that would be similar to shin splints. REST is most likely best cure, as much as it sucks to say.

[TexOle]

First of all shin splints is a term that gets overly used. Now for the important stuff, our trainer will not let anyone play with shin splints. He had a case years ago where one of our track athletes ran with shin splints and broke his leg. Apparently, it looked like something had blown up in his leg. That is now our team doctor, and if I remember right he continues to walk with a limp. I won't tell you not to play, but I would consider making sure you see a trainer or doctor before you continue to play. I would use lots of ice and rest.

[ohmilax34]

I skimmed all the replies, so I'm sorry if someone already said this. What I did to get rid of shin splints is strengthen the muscle there. Ever do calf raises? Well, doing the reverse exercise strengthens the shins. Put your heels on a step with your toes hanging over the edge. Dip your toes down as far as you can and bring them back up. That's one rep. If you go to a gym, they usually have a seated calf raises device. This works great for the shins. Sit back really far in the seat and it works great. You could probably use 2/3 the weight that you would use for your calves.