Shin Splints--should I run?

Question

I had yesterday off from running and this morning when I went to stretch to go out, I felt the pangs of pain all up and down my shines (I've had bruising of the shins this past week as well)

Trouble is I just started this past March, I'm now upto four miles/day with one day off. I hate to give up running b/c it's such an outlet for me.

I also had to take a couple of times off due to bronchitis and now this so I really want to keep going and get up to where my goal is 5-6 miles daily.

So should I just ice it and go out out and deal with the pain or take it off until it's healed as my spouse says. I feel like such a loser wimping out!!

Answer 1

Take a few days off icing your leg each day. If you continue running on it you will eventually have to take a much longer break from running. I am a long distance runner myself and at one point this year I had shin splints. I ended up continuing running but with increased pain. I later had to take a much longer rest to heal up from it. I hope that helped.

Answer 2

Take a few day off or else you will end up damaging more and be won't be able to run for weeks, do some simple stretches at home and have lots of hot baths and rub some tiger balm or deep heat in and will help ease the pain.

Answer 3

Well from my point of view if it is that bad i think if you run for your school you should talk to your coach and then talk to your Doctor to see if you have to go to physical therapy or if there is some medications. And i know what you are going through becase i also have had shin splints but i ran through them. But i am not saying you should it is all up 2 you.

Answer 4

No dont do ittttttttt!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 5

Yeah, I do.  Just take some ibprofin and put on some ice hot before you run.  Then ice when you are done.

Answer 6

hie waz up esa

Answer 7

So there are several scenerios that can cause shin splints or pain the in shin area.  The two most common are that it is a stress fracture and the other is that there is inflammation of the connective tissue.   You may be in the early stages of one of these 2 items.  You may want to take some time off and ice a bit and do some stretches.

Now let's take a step back for a moment and look at the cause. Think about your legs and how much work they are being put through. You are putting your entire body weight on one leg for multiple miles. Not only that, but because you are moving, you are now increasing that body weight. World class sprinters put between 2-3 their body weight worth of power into the ground per stride. Because many of us have not been properly taught how to run, non trained athletes actually increase that level to 4-6 their body weight.  For a distance runner the individual step will not generate those types of forces but even at 1-2x the body weight per step for multiple miles, you are in trouble if you form is not perfect.

Many runners tend to plantarflex our ankles when we run (i.e. point them). This means that the upper ball and toes of the foot lands first and their is a few inches of space between the ground and our heel. In order for the foot to do this, it lands out in front of us thereby acting as a brake and then we "pull" our body forward.  The other incorrect form that is exhibited is a dominant heel strike.  You are less likely to "pull" the body forward,  but you are now increasing the braking forces into the ground.  Instead of allowing your muscles to absorb the impact of your stride, you are now allowing the ankle, shins, knees, etc to take all the forces.  You should be working your glutes, hamstrings and to a lesser extent, calves when you run. Most people tend to use their quads. The quads should act more as a shock absorber and helping the leg get back into position for the next stride. Anything else and you are risking injury.

Some running advice is to land on the balls of the feet with the heel slightly grazing the ground or a credit card worth of space between.  You head/shoulders should be even to the ground (no bouncing movement) and the foot should strike just in front of the body.  If you start moving towards longer distances such as marathon, you may need to have a little more heel strike as to limit the amount of stress on the calves.  This is an advanced form of running so you should try to ask an expert who can properly see your form and make adjustments.

Good Luck!

Answer 8

REST.  You should never ever work out through the pain.  Your body is telling you something is wrong and you should listen to it.  I ran through my shin-splints and made them worse, and had to take a few weeks off.  If your running 4 miles a day with a day off you should definetly take a week off every now and then because thats a lot of distance.  Navy SEALs dont even run that much!

Answer 9

no you must stop til the pain is gone...sorry but that's the way it is...i got a stress fracture by not stopping...there are things you can rub on the shins to help them heal...i'd look into them...good luck