Shin splints

I'm a relitivley new runner, I've been running for maybe a year, recently I agreed to do a 5k run for a local charity and my usual runs arent anymore than that anyway but I now have a very sore shin,when I step when walking the pain is very sore at times then eases off then gets sore again.  There is only a slight ache when im standing and most of the pain is from about halfway dwn my shin and over the front of my foot. I've read on here that it can take 2 to 4 weeks to recover from it but my run is in 2 weeks and I was hoping to do a little more training before that.  Not doing the run is not an option as I have well over a £100 in sponsor money already and would be letting to many people down.  PLEASE help

Claire

I've had a bit of shin pain before now, and have managed to cure it quite quickly. You need to follow RICE-

Rest- scale your training right back for a week, or cross train by biking or swimming to maintain your fitness

Ice- pop a bag of frozen peas on it after each run for about 20 minutes

Compress- try a pair of compression socks or pop a tubigrip on it

Elevate- when you're icing it, pop your foot up on the sofa so it's raised

Also, I tried doing toe raises- stand with your back against a wall and your feet about a foot away, then keep your heels on the floor and raise your toes. I did 3 sets of 20 toe raises every night before bed and my shin splints were gone in no time

Sarah, ure a star!! Thank you so much.  My pain isnt so bad today as I've taken alot of advice Ive gotten from here and friends who run, rest, ice, and elevation so far, I'll try the compression with a  tubigrip tonight.

Thanks again,

your help is really appreciated.x

You're very welcome! The tubigrip definitely helps, but give the toe raises a try too- they really helped my shins when I was getting panicky about being injured

yh will do.  Thats exactly how I was yesterday, because it was so sore so quickly I was  paniking I wasnt going to manage the run.  I had all sorts of nonsense going on in my head, stress fractures A and E and even crutches(thats me over the back tho ) so you and another runfan on here have put my mind at rest and for tht Im eternally grateful lol xxxxx

i suffered with these for  years and even got a stress fracture. i got orthotic inner soles and it cured me for a while but then my gait changed as i got older and i never get it now. i would not advise getting orthotics what i would advise is if your a heel striker which i can bet you are to change to midfoot striking. you will not get shin splints this way and it wont do you harm to start from scratch if youre only doing 5ks

well I've been trying to take smaller steps and concentrate on not heel striking for that reason, and striking midfoot instead. I think my issue has been caused by a combination of concrete running and increasing my distance, i've been doing from 5 to 8k in the past couple of weeks.  Where I live there arent many areas of grass to run on of any distance anyway but thank you for your help.  There is a shop in town that specialises in running shoes so im gunna go in there and have a chat and see about new shoes aswell.

My leg isnt so sore now as i've spent a good chunk of the day with it elevated and iced, so I figure if I keep this up for the next few days I should be good to go next week.

Thanks again John x

First don't worry about running before the event, you really won't improve your chances so close to the event anyway.

For the longer term though.

1) after any training session, ice your shins for minimum 10 minutes even if you feel no pain - 2 bags of frozen peas will do while lying down on the couch

2) there are specific exercises you can do regularly before you run that help, basically they strengthen your shin muscles which are too weak relative to your calf muscles. (a) walk on toes for a short distance, (b) same distance on heels with toes upward (c) repeat a and b with toes pointing aoutwards (like a duck), (d) repeat a and b with toes pointed inwards. (d) regular several times daily calf and hamstring stretches

3) if your running style involves landing on heel with knee straight, work on changing your style to land always with knee slightly flexed

Good luck