Forums/

Injury

Donata A.
Donata A. Sendmail

Posterior Shin Splints?

posted 11 months ago | Report

Does anyone have ideas on dealing with posterior shin splints? I can't afford to go to a physiotherapyst often and all Ive been cleared to do is cut my running down to 1km each run, buy insoles at the sports store, and ice.

Respond

6 posts

scroll to bottom
  • Erik K.
    Erik K. Sendmail

    In my experience, the cutting back on distance (until healed), and ice helped. Insoles - not so much. IMHO you'd be better off spending the $20 you'd put to get insoles into KT Tape and watch the online videos to make sure you use it correctly.

    All those things are treating symptoms. The most likely root cause is in your running form, specifically over-striding. When I started fixing my form, my shin splints went away, along with mild PF. While I don't follow one specific form program, I do something similar to the Chi Running, POSE, and Natural Running methods. You can get the basics of any of these from online videos. If you find one easiest to follow, books and more extensive videos can be purchases.

    posted 11 months ago

  • Marsi K.
    Marsi K. Sendmail

    Definitely KT tape!! I'm dealing with posterior shins splints right now too. Ice especially after working out. I wrap ice packs in flour sack cloths and tie them on. Arnica cream is good too.

    posted 11 months ago

  • Justyn R.
    Justyn R. Sendmail

    ok, 1st, not sure what the difference is between posterior shim splints and plain old shin splints. 2nd, the big part of this post is from an old post of mine so certain things in it might be out of context. bottom line is, out of the small pool of people (about 10) that I've suggested this to and gotten feedback from, this has worked 100 percent. It's free, it's easy, and it works. here it is:

    I used to get shin splints really bad, and although I’d read a few things that were supposed to help, I stumbled onto something that worked perfectly and later learned would it was and why it helped.

    As it turned out, the non-smart guy cause of shin splints is that the muscle (which I’d later learn is the Anterior Tibialis -AT) is grossly overmatched by your calf muscle. Where as most muscles groups (bicep/tricep, quad/hamstring etc) are close to the same strength, the muscles in your lower leg aren’t even close. So I began strengthening my AT with a piece of equipment my gym had where you pull your toes toward your shin against resistance (Tyler would later teach me that this is known as a dorsi flex) That strengthened my AT and within a couple weeks, the shin splints were a thing of the past and I’ve never suffered from them again. And you don’t need that piece of equipment to do them. Just put something heavy on your toes and lift it off the ground while keeping your heels on the ground.

    Every person I’ve ever talked to that had shin splints and strengthened their AT has had the same results. Another efficient method of doing this is by simply walking on your heels every now and then. You may look silly walking with your toes pulled up, but I’ll do it after a run for about a hundred paces just to make sure that AT gets its work in. So if you’re suffering from shin splints, strengthen that AT and you’ll be happy you did.

    posted 11 months ago

  • Mark K.
    Mark K. Sendmail

    I agree with the taping, icing and strengthening the AT. If you want to keep running right now, tape first (look at on line videos) and then run on grass at a slow pace. Find a park or a field and as long as you stay on grass you'll be alright. Stay off the pavement and hard surfaces for a couple weeks while your body heals...this is something I learned during cross country in College; I was able to keep my training miles up and the shin splints healed and allowed me to still race.
    BTW: The taping doesn't look like it does much as it starts at the ankle and comes around the calf and over the shin...3 wraps, but you should feel instant relief. I would suggest wearing the tape throughout the day to keep the pressure off. Hope this helps.

    posted 11 months ago

  • Iztok U.PRO
    Iztok U. Sendmail

    Compression sleeves helped me. That and making sure my running form is better than what I did in the past. RICE all the way.

    posted 11 months ago

  • Donata A.
    Donata A. Sendmail

    Thank you for your feedback everyone.
    I have tried KT Tape before numerous times but I find it doesn't stay on very long. I've followed the videos and it falls off. Thoughts?

    I will definitley try the strengthening of the AT as well as running on a softer surface.

    How do I know if it's my running form? How do I improve my running form??

    posted 11 months ago

Similar Discussions in Health & Fitness - Injury