Shin splints causing calf problems. Over-compensation?

Question

I had really bad shin splints during track this past season, and they caused my calves to tighten up so much, it hurt to do even a mile. I took the month of June off and started training for college XC first of July and the same problems are arousing agian. Before shin problems, I could run a 5K in about 20 minutes and I ran one tonight in 27 minutes because of the pain and stopping for stretching. I stretch before and after each run, ice, and have new shoes and insoles. I dont know what to do. Alive usually helps the shin problems, now its just my calves that are unbearable.

I am an 18 year old female who starts NCAA Dll XC in 3 weeks. Please help me

Answer 1

Shin splints can change your gait enough to lead to calf problems, but I would assume that both are being caused by the same thing.

If you run too far up on your toes, you ankle is plantarflexed.  This leads to you hitting too far in front of your body.  You now have braking forces occuring on each step and you are pulling your body forward instead of pushing your body forward.  Here are some numbers.  A top level running puts between 2-5x their body weight worth of force into the ground (remember for every action there is an equal but opposite reaction).  A runner that plantar flexes or has too much heel strike puts 4-6x their body weight into the ground because of braking forces.  Consider the typical strength program, how many times your body weight can you squat?  now consider that your body is putting those forces *per leg*.  Also, on your toe will activate your calf muscle.  The calf muscle is small compared to your running muscles (glutes and hamstrings) so you will wear out faster since you are only as strong as your weakest part.

Moving forward with this logic, you foot is landing too far in front.  The equal but opposite reaction now will travel up the front of your leg.  Think about what is there:  shins and knees.  After a while you can start getting hip issues too.  By landing on the balls with like a credit card worth of space between the heel and the ground or flat footed, you will be landing 4-6 inches in front of your body, ankle is dorsiflexed, and you are now pushing your body forward.  This will activate your primary running muscles: glutes and hamstrings.  This should eliminate shin splints (it does in the people I coach), calf pain, tendinitis in the knees, etc, etc.

Feel free to contact me with specific questions.  

Good Luck!

Answer 2

You need to do a really good post run stretch. My favorites are these 2

http://www.the-fitness-motivator.com/ima...

http://www.usdoctor.com/stretch3.jpg

Also your running gait might be a source of the problem. Are you supinating (running on the outside of the foot), pronating (inside on the arch), or have a neutral stance? You can usually tell by looking at how your running shoes wear out. You should be slightly pronating bc the arch of your foot acts like a kind of shock absorber. It flexes down and flattens to absorb the impact. If you're supinating, you're avoiding the majority of this benefit and transferring all the impact straight to your shins and knees.

You also need to have the right shoes for your running style. The cheap way is to goto a specialized running store, have an expert analyze your gait cycle and recommend what shoes fits your feet and running style. Usually shoes at these places have an incredible mark up so remember what shoes he recommended and goto your local sporting good store and buy them on the cheap there. That or buy last years model which are always much much cheaper.

Answer 3

You need to wait till your shin splints fully heal. When any part of your leg hurts you over compensate with other muscles. When i had tendinitis in my knee when i played soccer in high school i ended up hurting my ankle trying to hit the ball differently so my knee would hurt less. Once you heel and slowly build your muscles back up you should be fine.

Answer 4

i dont think you have shin splints.. cuz those dont affect the calfs that much.. they are the inside and front that would hurt.. check somethin else out.

Answer 5

You may need more time to heal. I can tell you that using ice is hindering things a bit. You want to keep those muscles warm. This promotes blood flow, and thusly, promotes healing. Purchase a jar of Tiger Balm. Red is regular strength, and white is extra strength. I recommend white. Rub it into your calves just before you stretch. Should work wonders for your shin splints, too.

Answer 6

Shin splints are caused by stomping on the ball of your foot and can be caused by going down hills the most although they can happen on flat surfaces. Try to not put as much pressure on the front of your foot by running from your heel to your toe. Also try getting some shoes with more support in the toes and heels they will help.

Answer 7

Try walking around the house on your toes and massage your calves daily.  This will help to stretch your calf muscles.