A common injury.
My kid is running in hs & just came down with a shin splint this week. Definitely due to him running in his old shoes.
Anyway, He has been icing & doing stretches.
I remember in college, heating the shin before some runs & having ultrasound or electro-stim applied by the trainer.
Does anyone have any sound advice or experience.
Greatly appreciated.
any help?
I've gotten the shin splints from time to time, usually after picking up the training after a lay off.
I found the advice at this link helpful:
http://run-down.com/tips/tips3.php
I don't have rubber tubing, so I used a rolled up beach towel to rotate my foot. I'd do the exercise a couple times a day, ten minutes' worth per session. Within a couple days, I had a noticeable improvement in my shin.
Very simple solution and it worked for me.
the wall push-up
have your youngster walk up to a wall and stand a little under arm's reach from the wall
have him point his feet inward (pigeon-toe fashion) and SLOWLY lean toward the wall supported by his arms until he
can touch the wall with his nose, then, just as SLOWLY lean back away from the wall (If done properly he will feel the stretch in his shins almost immediately)
start with 3-5 reps very slowly and increase to 10
i found this cleared mine up within two days, TOTALLY
Additional note: I clearly cannot speak for everyone but it has been my experience that this is caused by shoes that have soles which are too hard and/or running on surfaces that are too unforgiving. He may need shoes with more cushioning, or perhaps even racing flats since he may be young enough to benefit. He should run regularly on soft surfaces: grass, dirt, trails.
Thanks for the good feedback.
We will give them a shot.
For what its worth, if the shin splints havent come after a long lay off then i always felt it was either of two things+
1. Weak shin muscles, so look for loads of exercises to do.
2. A shoe problem, so get out of those old shoes asap and get to a podiatrist or a good sport shoe shop to help you choose the right shoe.
If its after a long lay off, just take a couple of rest days more each week and it should begin to ease. The exercises wouldnt go a miss either.
hope that helps
ice
rest