Shin Splints
I’ve received a few questions about this….
One common injury among runners (or dancers even) is that of
shin splints (or the fun, scientific term:
tibial stress syndrome). As a
runner if you do too much, too soon, ramp up your workouts, or even by just
sprinting to class, work etc. you know you may have a shin splint when you feel
a sudden pain in the lower front part of your leg. While they can go away on their own through
rest, there are times when the symptoms are much more serious that require
medical attention. Through this article
I will go into more detail about how they are caused, the symptoms, and preventative
measures you can take so you don’t get them.
Stress fractures tend to be caused by weak calf muscles,
running incorrectly when going uphill (putting a lot of stress on the lower
front part of your leg, or improper running form), or even overpronation, in
which means you may have the wrong pair of running shoes. If you have weak bones, that too can be a
cause of a stress fracture.
One obvious symptom of a shin splint is pain in the lower
front part of your leg. Some feel it
only during running, others after running, or obviously both. Another symptom is if you notice your lower
leg muscles swelling up.
Preventitive measures:
-Health
wise ensure you are getting some calcium (or as I call it calciyum!) in your
diet, which of course aids your bone health.
Some foods that contain a decent amount of calcium are the following:-Yogurt (plain, nonfat the best. A lot of yogurt has a lot of fat content so watch for that)
-Low fat milk
-Cheese (American, ricotta, mozzarella, etc.)
-Spinach -Salmon
-Almonds
-Exercises to strengthen the shin
Exercise 1: Calf Raise
-Stand
with ball (front) of foot on step, heel (back) of foot lowered-Raise your heels a few inches and hold the position for a second
-Slowly lower heels back to the starting position
Exercise 2: Toe raise
-For this one make sure you are sitting with feet on the floor
-Keeping the heel of your foot on the ground lift the rest of your foot up as high as possible. Hold for a few seconds and return the foot back to the floor.
-3 Sets of 15 should do the trick.
-Treatments for shin splints -When you begin feeling pain in the shin area make sure you put ice on it right away, which will limit the swelling or ‘bleeding’ of the shin area. Its suggested to ice every 5-10 minutes every few hours. Never use heat right away!
-Aspirin / Ibuprofen – helps relieve pain quicker.
-Resting or not working out that certain area is very important. It sucks but it has to be done in order to heal. It will at least give you time to reflect back on the mistake you made, how it was done, and to never do it again.
Shin splints, like other pains or muscle soreness, tend to
go away after a few days. If you’re like
me though I will still find ways to exercise everything else and not use a
certain injury as an excuse. I probably
won’t work out as intense but I will definitely do something to keep myself
going.
Until next time….Take Action and stay JustInpired!
‘Running Well’ - http://www.amazon.com/Running-Well-Sam-Murphy/dp/0736077456/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335377066&sr=8-1
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