Shin Splints

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May 2014
10:51pm, 20 May 2014
1,081 posts
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SillyFencer
Could my recent bout of shin splints be caused by pace?

I have recently lost a bit of weight and changed from a rough average pace of 10 min/miles to 8 min/miles in the space of about 5 months. I was bothered with shin splints before, but could not figure out what caused them. They went away after physio and was fine all the way through Marathon training and high monthly mileage.

Lower mileage just now and the shin splints are back. I ran a fast (for me) 10k (47:19) on Sunday and a quick parkrun (22:59) on Saturday and it's sore still today and for the first time I am feeling it in my right shin too. It may not be that, but the only other thing that has changed is I have been doing some cycling, but can't see that having an impact.

Got advice from physio, doing various stretches for them. They have not really stopped me from running yet (kinda did tonight though) and felt fine during both runs at the weekend, but sore immediately afterwards.
May 2014
11:08pm, 20 May 2014
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Pizza Boy
Very important not to ignore it, it will get worse and worse until no longer tolerable otherwise.

It's normally due to the surface you're running keep off roads as much as possible even cycle tracks are better but ideally grass. The shin bone has an exceptionally small cross-sectional area and so experiences a lot of force on the impact of running. Softer ground will reduce the impact as will stronger quads.

Keep icing, keep stretching and you'll keep on top of it :)
May 2014
8:10am, 21 May 2014
1,030 posts
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Tigerlily
Can't offer any advice on the shin splints but would love to know how to improve my pace like that! Well done and heal soon!
May 2014
8:58am, 21 May 2014
1,082 posts
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SillyFencer
Be fat. Run. Stop being fat. Keep running. Think that about covers it. lol
FR
May 2014
9:22am, 21 May 2014
1,555 posts
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FR
SF, other things to consider are:

[1] Terrain you're running on, is it all tarmac, is it grass, or a mixture?

[2] Elevation, how hilly are your routes?

[3] Shoes, have you changed your shoes recently, or are they old and worn out?
May 2014
9:57am, 21 May 2014
1,084 posts
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SillyFencer
1. Tarmac, but this is what I did all my marathon training on just after my last bout of shin splints.
2. Mixed. No ridiculous hills though.
3. My regular running shoes (Saucony Guide 7) are at about 200 miles.
May 2014
10:24am, 21 May 2014
1,472 posts
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Pedro_Perez
I have suffered from this in the past, you have to be careful as the term shin splints is very general and covers basically any pain in the shin area, I could target mine and tape it as a result, this helped massively.

Its usually caused by excess stress to the lower leg, could be tight muscles, your body reacting to the new found speed, or in fact a large number of other factors.

Mine came when I got back into sport after a long break and I was a bit fat, I had anterior shin splints in both legs, I had two choices, rest/take it easy or try tape, I chose tape.

richwoodstrack.com

You don't need any fancy tape, I used sports wrap with PVC tape, you can go too tight though be careful.

If you decide to go down this route don't give up on the first go, I didn't get it right for a good few runs but when I did I certainly knew it and I repeated the taping for every run, it didn't stop me doing anything.

It took me a good 2 to 3 months before I could run pain free, I would of course ignore me and get yourself checked out as I am not a professional and can only speak of my personal experience but I would certainly ask your physio about taping

All the best.
Jun 2014
11:28am, 1 Jun 2014
1,134 posts
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SillyFencer
Ok. More convinced now. Long, hilly, off road run worn no pain at all. Short, sharp parkrun and I'm sore all day afterwards.

Could my gait be off as I speed up?
Jun 2014
12:44pm, 1 Jun 2014
10,967 posts
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Ultracat
You could just slow down :)

Seriously hope you get it sorted.
Sep 2015
10:25am, 29 Sep 2015
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superfan
Hope it's OK to jump in to this thread rather than start a new one.
Been suffering with SS for about a month now, no sudden hike in mileage or change of footwear, the only thing I can think of is that I've been doing strides as part of my marathon training programme but I did the exact same programme last year and had no issues so it's very confusing, could this have caused it?
Very frustrating and disappointing, looks like I'm going to miss my autumn marathon. :(

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Could my recent bout of shin splints be caused by pace?

I have recently lost a bit of weight and ...

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