| Kele |
| ||
|
I've been experiencing excessive fatigue, and thus a burning pain, in the muscles on the front and outside of my shins. I'm not sure if it's a case of shin splints or not, as it's not the sharp pain I thought was associated with that condition. It's more like the muscles begin to feel overworked and very tired after maybe 10-15 mintues of running, thus making it tough to have a smooth footsrike and transition to toe off. I can recreate the soreness/fatigue by doing an exercise with the thera band where I wrap it around something in front of my foot and pull my toes towards me. Also, it tends to get worse when I'm running down any sizeable or steep hill. So, is this shin splints, or maybe something else? I used to have this problem maybe once every few weeks during normal training, but I've just come back from 2 months off with some nasty peroneal tendonitis and it's been bothering me on consecutive days for the first time. Even when it doesn't flare up really bad, I can still sense a little bit of it in the muscles. |
| Kele |
| ||
|
Morning bump, anybody have any insight? |
| Kele |
| ||
|
Bueller, Bueller? |
| Ferris Bueller |
| ||
|
In my uneducated opinion, it could be general weakness, tendonitis, or compartment syndrome. For all three possibilities I recommend frequent icing to control the pain/swelling and speed healing. Also you should be doing strengthening exercises. Cut back the running -- perhaps you are trying to do too much too soon after your previous injury layoff. Get healthy first, then get in shape. Can't emphasize enough the value of ice. Get a small trash can, a thermometer, and some ice. Fill can with water, and add ice until the water temperature is 50 degrees F. Put your lower legs in the can for 20 minutes. Do after running and at one other time each day. Trust me, this works for just about any injury. Good luck. |
| Ferris Beuller |
| ||
|
In my uneducated opinion, it could be general weakness, tendonitis, or compartment syndrome. For all three possibilities I recommend frequent icing to control the pain/swelling and speed healing. Also you should be doing strengthening exercises. Cut back the running -- perhaps you are trying to do too much too soon after your previous injury layoff. Get healthy first, then get in shape. Can't emphasize enough the value of ice. Get a small trash can, a thermometer, and some ice. Fill can with water, and add ice until the water temperature is 50 degrees F. Put your lower legs in the can for 20 minutes. Do after running and at one other time each day. Trust me, this works for just about any injury. Good luck. |
| khink02 |
| ||
|
actually thats not true...ice will not do much at all for compartment syndrome b/c the only thing to really cure that is by having surgery ( i know from experience)...ALMOST sounds like the symptoms of compartment syndrome. Pain starts on the top of the foot/ankle and muscles get tired and sore. They will then start to get numb and it feels like your foot is dragging. The shin muscle on the outside of the leg will be pretty hard when you're done running and pretty swollen. If you have those symptoms i'd suggest having the test done..only true way to known if you have it. |
| Kele |
| ||
|
Yeah, it does get difficult to put my foot through the proper rolling forward motion, but I can't say that I've had any numbness, it's just been bad muscle fatigue. Also, the CS descriptions I've read seem like it's a pretty severe pain, and mine's more just like when you work a muscle to exhaustion, a kind of burning pain and refusal to work properly, but not something that you'd cringe at the feeling. I might hold off a bit more before looking into tests, but is there a particular type of physician/specialist that would have to do this, and is it a very involved process? I know it involves somehow taking pressure measurements in the compartments, do they just stick a needle in or something? Even though I might not have CS, is the surgery something that you make a full recovery from, and how long does recovery take? The idea of slicing things in my calf/shin muscles seems pretty painful. |
| khink02 |
| ||
|
from the descriptions you've said, i would have to make an educated guess saying you have CS, but dont take my word. i never had a SEVERE pain, although the soreness of the muscle and the numbing feeling had made me actually stop on a few hard workouts. Seemed like it only got really bad when I did speed work or tempo runs. Usually the pain won't start right away, will take a couple miles or so before the symptoms occur. Also, whenever your symptoms start up, a way to tell if it might be CS is if your muscle is really hard and really swollen. Your skin should look like its being streched apart (easy to see on girls b/c with no hair you can see how shiny the skin gets). And yes, there is a specific type of physician you'd have to see because not many people are familiar with it. The test i did involved a machine that gave resitance when you have to move your foot up and down. After about 30 seconds or so (took me 20 seconds), the symptoms will flare up and you won't be able to move it anymore because of the pain). They will then stick a needle in your lateral and anterior compartments (i think those are the words). They will then measure the pressures. Surgery isn't bad at all. They do have to do full anesthetics b/c they can't just localize the whole leg. Surgery has a 90% success rate, 9 % it does nothing, and 1% it gets worse. IF YOU HAVE THE SURGERY, its important to make sure you have a great doctor. My doctor said that some doctors performing this surgery will not release the nerves (b/c they dont see it as a problem) and thus the pain will still be there after recovery. Recovery time differs (depending if you have both legs and if you have it in both compartments). I had CS in one leg (which is unusual) and in both comparments. I started minimal stationary biking a month after the surgery. Biked for about 3 weeks, did eliptical machine for a week, and then started running again. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at khinkle@marian.edu...good luck |
| Nobby |
| ||
|
For any type of pain, I usually classify them in roughly two groups; one that gets worse as you continue the exercise, the other that gets better (as you warm-up and get blood flow going) as you continur. Naturally, if it's the former, you would most likely need to keep working at it till you strengthen the area. From a quick observation of how you described it, I would opt to say this is the case (same type of pain as using front part of your leg = you are still strengthening the area). My suggestion would be to just jog easily for 30~45 minutes and see how the pain is experienced (type I or II). If it's the latter type, consult professional. I noticed when I get injured and I'd go for a brisk walk instead of running, I get this pain in the front and sides of shin. I'm more or less flat-footed or fore-footed runner and, when I walk, I pull the foot upward more and that use the front side of shin muscles more. I would just slow down but keep on walking and after a while, you get stronger and don't feel as much pain (don't rush it). From this experience, and the fact that you said you feel more pain going downhill, sort of makes me think that it could be shoe-related. I am a minimalist and I know some people don't welcome the opinion of minimalists. But I do believe that when you wear very thick-heeled shoe, you do tend to land harder on your heel; this means you are actually pulling your foot forward and upward more. I can vividly see the change in running style in my 13-year-old daughter when she runs in thick basketball shoes and barefoot (seek the opinion from Jagure somewhere else in the threads). Plus, thick heel means you are actually adding extra length from the point of landing to the ankle joint. The longer this lever, the faster and the harder you "slap" the rest of your foot down. This could create shock-wave through your shin. Some people site this as the cause of shin splint. Have a look at the type of running shoes you wear and see if you notice any change in your running style. |
| Kele |
| ||
|
Well, I guess I'll atleast look around for a doctor capable of doing the testing, as it seems from your descriptions CS is a decent possibility. Just another thing you added in your last post about the hard, swollen muscles...I can't tell visibly if they're swelling much but they do feel very full/tight, get pretty hard, and I do notice that my skin gets pretty shiny as if it's being stretched somewhat. Did you ever experience anything like I did, where you notice the pain/fatigue only occasionally (i.e. once every couple of weeks) before it became a full blown problem? I think it might have something to do with my extended layoff with peroneal tendonitis, but if anything I'd think the layoff would've helped the situation atleast somewhat. I just really hope that this kind of fizzles its way out before I have to do anything like surgery, as I've already just about died having to take several months off with my ankle. Now this pops up right when I've gotten all excited and pumped up about getting back into great shape to PR this summer...but I guess there are plenty out there who've been out longer than me, still frustrating though. Oh, and thanks a lot for your help. |
LetsRun.com Get an Extra 20% off on Spikes/Flats from the leader in track and field/racing shoes Eastbay.com. You'll automatically see the discount at checkout. Email us at letsrun@letsrun.com if you have questions.
Nike Pegasus 20% off. Special LetsRun.com savings on the Nike Air Pegasus.
Nike Mayfly Extra 20% Off.
20% off the adidas AdiZero at Eastbay.com. LetsRun.com visitors get 20% off
