Shin Splints

Hi guys,

I was wondering if any of you guys have any advice or suggestions for the treatment of shin splints?

It started about a week and a half ago in my left leg and it’s bad. I've tried treating it with TransAct plasters and some ice. I also tried some rest the last three days.

I know that I probably have to stay of my feet and need some more rest, but I can’t really afford it as I have a race this weekend in preparation for big race next weekend.

I am into high intensity weight and some endurance training and competing in obstacle races. When running, the first 500m or so is very painful, after that I can push through and handle the pain until the cooling down afterwards when the pain starts coming back.

Does anyone have some experience or advice? It would be greatly appreciated.

bro I play a lot of indoor action sports, I got very bad shin splints too from it

I tried various hot/cold treatments etc. I was only playing one night a week, and not even the weeks rest helped it with treatment, eventually I took about 3/4 weeks off and that helped dramatically.

there might be some quick fixes, but the only way for me was some decent time off. I suggest you do it after your big race

Thanks PP, appreciate!

Jip, I was afraid that would be the advice and expected it in some way.

I have a big race next weekend and then the first weekend in April, that’s 5 weeks. After that I can afford to take some decent time off as you suggested.

Any quick fixes I can try to help with the pain and to push through the next 5 weeks?

There are no quick fixes for shin splints. There are various strapping techniques which will help alleviate the pain during exercise but that is like putting a plaster on a gunshot wound.

Some things that will help prevent/heal them over time:

-New shoes, get a proper analysis done
-Foam roller
-Strapping
-Strengthening calves
-Toe taps
-Roll your foot on a golf ball
-Stretching
-KT tape
-Compression socks (Not proven to help, but they do for me)
-And most importantly: REST (RICE).

If you have a race in a few days you can either strap it and wear some compression socks in the hope that it will not be as bad, or be smart and cancel the race, work on strengthening and stretching out your lower limbs and come back in a few weeks stronger.

Running on shin splints is not the worst thing that can happen, a stress fracture is. And if you push with shin splints you will possibly get one and then you are in the mire.

Thanks Chapel,

I guess I would just have to follow my head and take your and PP’s advice and take it easy for a while until I can get it sorted. It is just hard to accept that one would have to give up on months of training for an unnecessarily thing as shins.

I will however follow your advice and take it easy and try to sort out the problem and come back stronger.

Thanks for the advice, great to have a forum like this to help one accept some difficult decisions. Appreciate!!

Been there done that and suffered the disappointment of months of preparation going down the drain. Just look at it this way, if you push through it, 90% of the time it only get worse.

Good luck with sorting it out bud.

CHAPEL wrote: Been there done that and suffered the disappointment of months of preparation going down the drain. Just look at it this way, if you push through it, 90% of the time it only get worse.

take this advice seriously. I've had 4 stress fractures - they are overuse injuries, indicating you are doing too much

OPTRON wrote: Thanks PP, appreciate!

Jip, I was afraid that would be the advice and expected it in some way.

I have a big race next weekend and then the first weekend in April, that’s 5 weeks. After that I can afford to take some decent time off as you suggested.

Any quick fixes I can try to help with the pain and to push through the next 5 weeks?

Is it the warrior race? If so, they usually have people there with KT tape and they can tape you up before... I am doing the 15:30 batch next weekend!