Shin Splints

[adrenalin]

Just wondering if anyone here gets them or has any advice on how to treat them.

Basically play basketball 3 nights a week. Tuesday night i iced them for about an hour and when i went to play basketball last night i could barely run on them and was pretty much limping up and down the court as we only had 5 players.

At the moment just icing them after each game but now that isnt working by 2nd \ 3rd game.

[TJ]

Brockas was suffering with them recently from bball if I recall too.

I did ages ago, was one pair of shoes.

I know much like me you have 100000 pairs, is it the same shoes you are wearing atm?

[Crammit]

Have a chat to Trufflebank, He had them for ages

[MadDocker]

They are fucked. Had to quit playing rugby because I couldn't fight through them anymore and had bad pain walking around during the week.

I play basketball now and don't suffer as much. Think because the games are shorter and I don't train etc. so they get a rest between getting hammered.

When playing rugby, strapping my foot (tight under the arch), icing leg afterwards, stretching, different boots all helped a little but nothing besides rest made them go away.

Absolutely fucked injury.

[adrenalin]

Yea i have tried rotating through my shoes. Mainly swap between Rose 2.5s , Melo M8's , KD 4's and LeBron 10s. Still happens regardless.

From what i have read the only real way is at least 2 weeks rest which is a bit hard as i have finals coming up.

Only other treatments i have heard is Cortisone injections and i cant justify doing it considering its for fun and not serious.

[MadDocker]

Also, apparently running more on the balls of your feet and not heel striking and slapping your foot down can help. Not sure what your running style is like but might help a bit.

[Jazza]

I used to get them playing soccer. I was given small magnets by a specialist, you put them on the area where the shin splints are the worst (2-3 per leg along your shin) and it draws blood to the area to heal them faster. Obviously make sure whatever side of the magnet you put on your skin matches the other ones. I even played with them on. You just keep them stuck on with band aids. I'm not sure if it'll work for you or not but they allowed me to keep playing. You will want to move the magnets maybe once a week as you get blood spots under your skin. Also the obvious light massage and stretching, the massage hurts like hell at the start but it gets better after a few minutes.

[Damo 69]

i used a dynamat roller on my shins when in pain from running

would have to take the pain for a few minutes but would eventually ease

[stumps.]

Some people are more prone to them,

Mate had them real bad tried all different shoes and inserts (footy). He continued playing then got the fractures that come with it. Then went under the knife and had the back of his skins scraped.

He still has problems and has to stick to Full Forward now.

If you work out, make sure you train legs!!!

[siladee]

used to get them. best thing I found was stretching before and after basketball and elevating after the game

[RELEASE]

used to get them when running.
got fitted for proper shoes and no issues since.

[stormtrooper]

used to get them when running.
got fitted for proper shoes and no issues since.

This. I've always run with asics kayano and last year changed to asics nimbus, been having shin splints since they don't have arch support, switched back to a new pair of kayano, problem solved.

[catchya]

Just wondering if anyone here gets them or has any advice on how to treat them.

Basically play basketball 3 nights a week. Tuesday night i iced them for about an hour and when i went to play basketball last night i could barely run on them and was pretty much limping up and down the court as we only had 5 players.

At the moment just icing them after each game but now that isnt working by 2nd \ 3rd game.


If ice is not working, then you have to rest. How long? Depends on the individual. No "magical fast cure here". For me, it was at least a month. If your flatfooted, get insoles. As others have said, wear proper shoes with good support and shock absorb features.

[Nand0s]

Also, apparently running more on the balls of your feet and not heel striking and slapping your foot down can help. Not sure what your running style is like but might help a bit.

I can confirm this works, I believe the shoes/ shoe inserts correct your running form. I would get bad shin splints especially in my left leg until I tried this one night, worked great. Still probably a good idea to see specialist, prevention is 100x better than treatment. And definitely don't try and run through the pain, I did this and ended up with a stress fracture in my left shin, couldn't walk properly for weeks.

[[FFOUR]]

I had them a couple of years ago - was going to the gym and playing basketball (2-3 times a week).

I decided to stop going to the gym (which included leg days) and haven't had a problem since.

My podiatrist also told me that wearing a different pair of bball shoes every week doesn't help ;)

[[Jacek]]

I had them when I first started running, a few years ago.

I think you need a combination of rest, better fitting shoes, stretching and a change to your running style.

If they are bad, you may just need to stop running for a couple of months altogether, meanwhile doing some leg exercises at the gym to strengthen the surrounding muscles. You could also cycle to increase their strength, which is much lower impact on your legs.

Here's an interesting video to put things in perspective, but I'm not advocating a full-on change to barefoot running by any means with this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jrnj-7YKZE

[Missile]

Right shoes is the operative word here.
Don't know what line of work you are in, but also look at the shoes that you are wearing at work.
A few years back I was having quite bad pain whilst playing AFL. Pain stopped after new work boots were purchased.

[Brockas]

Yeh, I bought a pair of shoes that were shit and I'm still struggling with shin splints 6 months later.

There's nothing you can do. I got a nuclear bone scan done and they confirmed it was shin splints and told me to not run for 3 months. Got new shoes, waited 3 months... splints were back 3 weeks later.

I find 6+ nurofen before a game works a treat. That's about it.

[Nugs]

I find 6+ nurofen before a game works a treat. That's about it.
Voltaren is the shit!

[adrenalin]

Yea might try that as i am approaching the end of one season and 2\3 through another. Might just try stick it out then have a break.

[Sully]

I get terrible shin splints but have solved my problem somewhat. I play/train hockey 4-5 times a week for at least an hour at a time.
It happens because something in your foot/leg isn't aligned correctly so something is getting overly strained. That's the thing you're aiming to solve.

1) Go see this mob and get some proper orthotics made up. This fixed 90% of my problems. http://www.perth-orthotics.com.au/home/ get a few pairs, some for running shoes, some of work shoes etc. Best couple of hundred I've ever spent on sporting gear and I spend thousands on it. If I run even for 5 minutes without my orthotics in now, I can't walk without sharp sharp pain for about 2 days after
2) Find out what type/shape of foot you've got and get shoes that match that shape, and get ones with good cushioning in the sole structure rather than just the insole (you'll be taking that out for your orthotics)
3) concentrate on running more on the balls of your feet or even your toes instead of your heels. MASSIVE DIFFERENCE. Just lean forward. You'll find you can stop and change direction faster this way anyway.
4) stretch them out. Basically do slow squats with your feet and knees together but pushing out with your quads and calves. Sounds weird but you'll feel the stretch.
5) I take 2 nurofen about 30 mins before I play
6) massage your feet especially the arch, around the balls (giggity), and stretch/straighten out your toes a few times. It relieves stress up the sides of your calves.

I'm not a physio or anything but that's just a whole bunch of stuff that works great for me.

[adrenalin]

Will do

Cheers for that

[Blueraven]

I had them fairly regularly playing rugby and when i started out in triathlons...

I just stretched a lot. Then a lot more. Proper warm up and then didn't have a problem since.

[stormtrooper]

Yeh, I bought a pair of shoes that were shit and I'm still struggling with shin splints 6 months later.

There's nothing you can do. I got a nuclear bone scan done and they confirmed it was shin splints and told me to not run for 3 months. Got new shoes, waited 3 months... splints were back 3 weeks later.

I find 6+ nurofen before a game works a treat. That's about it.

Rest definitely a good idea and mandatory for splints however need to get shoes suited to your running style, not just whatever looks good or feels comfortable. Hit up Shannon for details of the place he went to and got shoes from, hasn't had an issue with splints since. Worth a look you think?

[turboknapp]

I've had them since I was bout 8, I've used orthotics and had fitted shoes for all sports I play. Ended up having to correct my running style to elevate some of the dramas, 2 years ago I went under the knife as I had compartment syndrome.
That made a huge difference, I couldn't run for 6 months though.

Still need to spend a fortune on shoes and physio/podiatry but thems the breaks

[Fukushima]

the running center in west perth... pretty sure its on hay st. http://therunningcentre.com.au/ - not sure if they do basketball shoes

you run on a treadmill and they record it on a laptop, play it back and pick shoes that suit your style. in my case the shoes I wore in there had too much support so I was getting shin splints quite badly

new shoes have been ace, don't think they cost that much either (no premium over rebel sport etc despite the running on treadmill part)

I also took glucosamine and fish oil for about three months, shin splints are inflammation in the lining that your muscle wraps around the bone... not sure if they helped really.


Oh if you do go in there give them my name they have some referral system, we got $10 off and my missus' mate got $10 off