Very Bad Shin Splints..?

Question

Today I got really bad shin splints and I am wondering how to ease the pain cause i have a practice tomorrow

Answer 1

Because of the way that the muscle runs (from the top of your shin and under your foot) it's usually a good idea to invest in a pair of insoles specifically addressing arch support.

Ice after every practice (ice cups right over the painful spot generally is the most popular among the soccer players and cross country runners I work with).

Anti-inflammatory medication can help to relieve the pain as well. You may also want to try a few different meds to see which works best for you (i.e. advil, aleve)

In order to help to quickly recover from this bout with "shin splints" (medial tibial stress syndrome) and avoid future incidents, you need to stretch and strengthen musculature of the area. This website has some decent exercises if you scroll down to the appropriate area

http://www.performancetrainingsystems.co...

If you are able to avoid running and ride a bike or swim to maintain cardiovascular endurance, that is probably your best choice. If you must run, do your best to run on "soft surfaces" (grass instead of concrete).

There are different tape jobs that can be done to compress the area; this sometimes leads to relief. If you have access to an athletic trainer at your school, you should inquire to them about the possible tape jobs as well as for a better explanation on what "shin splints" are and different rehab exercises you can be performing.

If you have been running excessively for a few weeks I would reccomend seeing a doctor being that sometimes the pain written off as "shin splints" is actually a tibial stress fracture.

Answer 2

I get those pretty bad too. The only thing I know to do for them is anti-inflammatories and rest.

Basically what you need to work on to help prevent them is exercises that strengthen the areas at the front of the shins.