What can i do for my running injuries?

Question

i run cross country and track&field, and this year i have had shin splints almost all of track season. ive done everything i can think of to help them. stretched, iced, heating pads, and my coaches even made me take a week off. but they really havent gotten any better, in fact it seems like theyve gotten worse.. and now my knee has started bothering me. regionals is coming up in a couple weeks and i really need to know ANYTHING i could do for my legs. ive really improved alot this year and i would hate to do poorly at the most improtant meet of the season.. i really appreciate anything anybody can tell me to help..

Answer 1

Although I agree that shin splints can be aggravated by terrain, running surface, shoes, etc., I am always surprised when people still suffer with shin splints and don't seem to know either the cause nor the cure.  Shin splints are caused by muscle imbalance. The front muscles are weak and the calves are strong.

The way to correct Shin splints is to strengthen the muscles at the front of the legs. Lie face down in bed with your toes hanging over the edge. Pull your toes upward against the resistance of the mattress. Try to work up to 3 or 4 sets of 5 – 10 reps each.

There are other variations of this, such as heel walking, hanging a paint can on your toes, or using the angle iron on bleachers to slip your toes under.

Good Luck

Answer 2

I run cross and track too.  I had horrible shin splints earlier this year and what helped me is stretching my calf two ways.  on a 20 sec stretch for 10 sec I tried putting my heel to the ground then after 10 sec I bend my toes to get the lower calf stretched. also it was  painful but I just ran through the pain and it went away

Answer 3

Although a variety of things can cause shin splints, from what you describe, I believe that the most likely reason is that you're wearing the wrong shoes.  Get to a running specialty store ASAP, bring your running shoes, and see if they can figure out the problem.

Be careful with prolonged shin splints, if let go for a long enough time, they can develop into stress fractures.

FYI: most people describe the feeling of a stress fracture as the feeling that the shin needs to "crack" or "pop" like the knuckles or one's back.

Good luck with the rest of the season!

Answer 4

so yea, if stretching, icing, heat, and taking a week off doesn't help. did you try rubbing it out? i would go to a physical therapist just to make sure you dont injure yourself more by rubbing yourself out. basically what they do is that they put like bengay or some heat gel thing on your shins, and the rub your shins out with their thumbs (mostly) and they hurt a LOT (depending how hard they go) but the rub outs helped mine go away. oh, and then i took an ice BATH. not just icing w/ an ice pack, and ice bath, where you stand in a bucket full of ice and water. that helps too (: