Injured Since Februay - Would Really Appreciate Some Help...

I can barely read your post.

Chronic shin splints (or stress reaction), are you use the bone scan didn't pick up anything?

> I ramped up milage quite quickly, too quickly I now

> realise, in January and by mid-February I had frequent

> pain on the inside of my right lower

> I've had custom orthotics fitted

You said yourself that your problem was due to overuse, you wasted your money there. Doctors and whomever else are very quick to say your biomechanics are at fault that the textbook solution is to stick a wedge under your foot. Maybe it could help, but not in your case, not right now.

> Usually I have no soreness in the leg for five or six days

> and then, just when some vague hope starts to arise, I jog > tad faster than the day before and the injury breaks down

> again

That's normal with these types of injuries.

> I'm a self-admitted compulsive runner and running is a

> large part of my life. The biggest issue for me, aside

> from not being able to actually run, is that despite a

> fair bit of experience I can't work out why it seems that > this injury just refuses to heal.

Maybe it doesn't heal because you are a self-admitted compulsive runner?

The only suggestion I have for you it to allow your tissue to heal, but you're going to need to forget about running fast and/or long for while.

Since I'm assuming your in the pits right now, and the leg isnt' doing well. I'd do the following, take 2 weeks completely off and use your energy somewhere else. Go swimming, go to the gym, etc. After two weeks you change your training philosophy. No long runs, no fast runs, just easy runs, every 2nd day to start. I can't set a specific schedule, but you keep doing easy runs so long as you have NO PAIN WHATSOEVER, during, after, and day after. As you progress, increase very gradually, with scientific precision. In the meantime, supplement with core work, or other activity.

Don't sweat it about your problem. You will regain fitness, it'll suck in the process, but you'll get it back.

Btw if you want, I'll trade injuries with you. I can almost laugh at your cry for help.. try living in my shoes for a day with holes in my articular cartilage (and I'm younger than you).

Arthur,

Sorry about the format of the post, the web form for posting threads seems somehow to have messed it up, it certainly wasn't that way when I clicked 'post'. Many thanks for the reply. I'll have to agree with your advice to stay off the road for at least two weeks. Somewhere at the back of my mind I'd suspected that perhaps I was pushing too hard but didn't want to accept that. Part of the problem has been that I've always been able to recover relatively quickly from any similar injuries before and it's taken a long time to realise that this one must be different. I just didn't realise that inflamation could persist for so long after all sensation of it had gone away during day to day stuff.

I can understand what you say about there always being someone with a worse situation than yourself and I wish you all the best with your own recovery. I particularly appreciate someone in your situation taking the time to reply,

Thanks,

Mick.

The golden rule is never to increase your mileage by more than 10% any week. I know you only start with 1mile when you return from your injury but the next day you are running 2 miles and so on (=double the distance). You don't want to hear this but in my opinion I would take 4 weeks completely off from running and do other non-impact sports every second day, e.g. cycling or swimming for cardio work. I've been told that 3 weeks is minimum for any serious running-related injury. Enjoy your month off and see it as a break from running. You need to change your outlook from "when can i get back to running" to "how long will it take for my injury to heal". So during your month off also do plenty of gym work and press-ups/sit ups to keep you strong (every second day between your cycles and swims). After this month do some very very easy jogging (20 mins max, crawling pace) 3 times a week on grass only and on your rest days do strengthening exercies for the ankles, achilles, calves, IT band and thighs. No weights, just use your own body weight (e.g. calf raises...standing on one leg, go up on your toes and back down again slowly. Do this until you feel the "burn". Take a minute recovery, do 1/2 the amount you originally did, 1 min rec then 1/2 the amount you did the second time). For the thighs, adopt a sitting positon against a wall, imagine there is a chair under you. Support yourself against the wall until the thighs burn and holding it for as long as possible, then take a minute recovery and follow like what you did with the calf muscles (1/2 amount the second set etc). 2nd week = no more than 25 minutes x 3 times a week. Increase your weekly runs then by no more than 10 minutes per run per week. There might be days you can slightly feel the injury again but I wouldn't worry, just keep the running easy and it should go away. Do all this and you'll be back in no time. 4 weeks off is nothing in the grand scheme of things (and it's nothing compared to your frustrating time off since almost the beginning of the year). Any time I have a niggle on a muscle I use ice for 15 mins then give the old leg a good hard massage for 15mins. Do this every hour for 2-3 hours in the evening (this prob doesn't apply to you but its good advice). My 2 cents anyway. Good luck.

Sorry, meant to say why I'm adding the strengthening exercises is that we runners get injured because a part of our body is not able to withstand the constant pressure being applied so it must be made stronger.

Ciao

I'd try seeing an Active Release Therapist. At times they can can address injuries and promote rehab better than other approaches. Good luck.

Hi Mick, here are my suggestions:

1. throw out the othodics and run in the lightest running shoe you can find for both training and racing. I like the Brooks Racer St or the Brooks T4 racer. You have probably been running in a heavily cushioned "supportive" shoe which over the long run weakens the muscles in your feet and legs setting you up for an injury. Its similar to walking around with cruthes for a few months. When you stop using the crutches you find that your muscles have weakened, the same thing with cushioned shoes. Get your feet used to running with light shoes and the problems will resolve themselves over time. The big supportive shoes sold today CAUSE pronation and suppination, they dont prevent them.

2. run on a soft surface to minimize impact until you heal.

3. Dont stretch, lift weights, do yoga, pilates or any of that other stuff; it all causes injury in that they are not natural and will pull ligaments away from bone attachments causing injuries.

Dont waste any money on exams. You will have to ease into getting back to running naturally and your injuries will take some time to heal depending on how severe they are now. Have patience, give nature a chance. Good luck

MAC Guy since 1985 wrote:

I'd try seeing an Active Release Therapist. At times they can can address injuries and promote rehab better than other approaches. Good luck.

I second the advice. Try to find a reputable ART practitioner in your area. I was experiencing similar problems and got immediate relief. After three visits I feel almost back to my old self...

Thanks Guys. I'm a little old fashioned about using the web. I fully realise that it takes a certain amount of generosity to read and respond to anyone's request for help on a web forum and so when someone is that generous to me I really do appreciate it.

First of all to 'Oh Ya' - I hear what your saying about patience and changing my outlook. That's good advice, the difficulty is in heeding it. I'll try. You're the second person to suggest strengthening exercises to me in the calf area and I'll do that. Thanks for your two cents, it's worth more to me.

To 'MAC Guy since 1985' and 'ACTworks' - The active release therapy idea sounds very interesting. Unfortunately I'm in a fairly remote rural location and can't immediately trace a therapist. I'll ask around and try to find out if one of the local places deals in this therapy. Are there any good online resources that you're aware of that might give me a start?

Silkysullivan - I've put away the orthotics for the moment at least which was difficult as they cost me quite a bit. As you've suggested I decided I needed to get back to basics. I'm a little confused by your suggestion to put aside the supportive shoes (I've run in ASICS Kayano's for years and years) but then to try to recover on a soft surface. I'd absolutely agree that the injury is caused by pounding a hard surface but can't see how a sudden switch to less protective shoes would help in such a fragile situation. I can see though that I've been forcing it a bit and should leave things to recover at a more natural pace. Thanks for your help.

I have founbd that on those occasions when rest by itself works, the only way it works is as follows:

(1) rest until you are sure you're hgealed and ready to resume

(2) double it -- rest that same amount of time AGAIN before resuming

good luck Mick

Joseph - You're a gentleman. Thank you. Hope to run NY sometime over the next few years. Am right in the middle of 'Anything for a T-Shirt' now and the book has made my mind up. I have to take part in that race someday, someday soon. Thanks for taking the time to respond - I'll try to listen.