Making Running Painless
Since the beginning of this semester, I have been training for my first indoor triathlon. Part of my training is running every weekday, and ever since that first day my main inhibitor has been shin splints. For those who do not know what shin splints are, they are a pain that develops on the medial edge of the tibia or in laymen’s terms the inside edge of the shin. I have searched the internet to find a solution to my problem and came across this article written by Mark Jenkins, MD at Rice University.
The article says that when you are running every time your foot strikes the ground a shockwave that travels up your leg and must be absorbed by your musculoskeletal system. It is this shockwave that causes the shin splints. The article stresses that if you want to prevent shin splints avoid running on concrete because concrete is extremely hard and in turn creates large shockwaves. Instead try running on soft grass, smooth dirt, or even asphalt (which are listed in order of softest to hardest). If you run you should wear a good pair of running shoes because most have shock absorbers, and you should replace worn out running shoes early sooner than later to reduce the length of time you are running with defective shock absorbers. If you have shin splints the only treatment is rest, so increase the increments between running either by resting or replacing running with other cross country exercises like cycling. If shin splints are affecting your day to day activities you should stop running until the pain subsides. Keep an eye on the pain, if it becomes very sharp and localized in a very small place you should see a doctor because your shin splints may have turned into a stress fracture.
The article gave great insight on prevention and treatment of shin splints. Starting tomorrow I will be running on the grass instead of the concrete to reduce the shin splints and hopefully be able to run for longer periods of time. Remember if you have shin splints then you need to significantly change your training routine to prevent them from developing into a more severe problem.
Reference Article:
http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/shin.html
The article says that when you are running every time your foot strikes the ground a shockwave that travels up your leg and must be absorbed by your musculoskeletal system. It is this shockwave that causes the shin splints. The article stresses that if you want to prevent shin splints avoid running on concrete because concrete is extremely hard and in turn creates large shockwaves. Instead try running on soft grass, smooth dirt, or even asphalt (which are listed in order of softest to hardest). If you run you should wear a good pair of running shoes because most have shock absorbers, and you should replace worn out running shoes early sooner than later to reduce the length of time you are running with defective shock absorbers. If you have shin splints the only treatment is rest, so increase the increments between running either by resting or replacing running with other cross country exercises like cycling. If shin splints are affecting your day to day activities you should stop running until the pain subsides. Keep an eye on the pain, if it becomes very sharp and localized in a very small place you should see a doctor because your shin splints may have turned into a stress fracture.
The article gave great insight on prevention and treatment of shin splints. Starting tomorrow I will be running on the grass instead of the concrete to reduce the shin splints and hopefully be able to run for longer periods of time. Remember if you have shin splints then you need to significantly change your training routine to prevent them from developing into a more severe problem.
Reference Article:
http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/shin.html
posted by Stephen Janes at 6:19 PM
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