I don’t think I know one runner who can say he or she has never been injured It goes with the territory, I suppose. I, like most athletes, have had my share of injuries. So what is it this time? Shin splints.
What are shin splints? What are the symptoms of shin splints? What are the causes of shin splints? How are shin splints diagnosed? How are shin splints treated? Read on…. Up to April of 2009, my year was going well. I finished 3rd behind Keith Kelly and Mark Kenneally at the Irish National Cross Country Championships in Santry, Dublin 9 in February. I won Ballycotton 10 for the 3rd time a week later. I finished 5th at the Great Ireland Run in the Phoenix Park in April. Along with Mark Kirwan, Kevin Moriarty and Richie Corcoran, we helped Raheny win the National Road Relays and I finished 2nd to Sean Connolly in the National 10k Road Championships. The first quarter of the year was polished off and phase 2 was about to start, and then suddenly it came to a halt.
Training on the track in early May I began to feel a numbing pain in my anterior tibialis (muscle at front of lower leg). I did what all us runners tend to do – I ignored it and carried on. The next day it wasn’t too bad, just a little tight. 2 days after the session I jumped out of bed to do a morning run and I could hardly walk. I carried on and had to stop after 2 minutes of limping. I had never had this pain before and it was alien to me. I began to seek out some medical advise on the matter. It was diagnosed as shin splints.
Shin splints are primarily injuries to the front and lateral side of the lower leg and seem to result from inflammation of the tendon on the tibia and also inflammation of the peroneal tendon. Shin splints are basically an overuse injury and are most common in runners. I always associated shin splints with overweight runners but it can occur to anyone – in fact, a lot of it depends on the way the foot strikes the ground and lifts up off the ground on take-off. The symptoms of shin splints are dull pains below the knee down to the ankle in the front of the lower leg. The pain is usually felt around the midpoint of the anterior tibialis muscle.
What are the causes of shin splints? Since it is an overuse injury, a common cause is a big increase in mileage or intensity, or both at the same time! Since the foot is landing and taking off more often due to an increase in mileage, it makes sense that the posterior and anterior tibialis muscles are working harder and longer and become fatigued. This is certainly the case for me. I increased my mileage at the end of April and I also increased the intensity by switching to the track. My foot was slapping the track more and more often and at a quicker rate. I was also wearing racing flats which leave little or no cushioning or support. With hindsight, it seems so obvious to me now but at the time I could not figure out why this was happening so suddenly.
How are shin splints diagnosed? Usually an MRI scan will pick up this injury. This is what I had done and it revealed some damaged muscle fibres in the area and also some damage to periosteum of the tibia bone on my left side. This was caused by the tendon and pulling off the bone and also pulling on the anterior tibialis muscle.
How is shin splints treated? Theories on this used to suggest total rest was the best form of treatment. Nowadays the trend seems to recommend a “relative rest” approach. This basically means no impact and lots of swimming, aqua jogging, cycling and cross training. Some core work and weights should also be included. This is what I did at my place of work at DCU, Glasnevin, Dublin 9. They have a state of the art gym there and I put myself through hell in that gym every day to try and make up for any lost fitness. Eventually I tried a few runs and now I seem to be doing ok. I missed roughly 8 weeks of running because of shin splints but now I am back to running every day. I started back running for 2 miles every second day and then increasing that by a mile or 2 per day every week until 6 miles felt good and then I started to put back to back days together. I am not out of the woods yet as the area is still tender, so I am not back to full training. I am now jogging easy for 7 miles every day and supplementing that training with weights, core work and lots of stretching and massage. It’s the little things that matter most!!! I will take each day as it comes and hopefully I can gradually get back to where I was in the next few weeks – and that’s the key word: Gradually.
Vinny Mulvey August 2009
www.vinnymulveyfitness.com
[email protected]
Up to April of 2009, my year was going well. I finished 3rd behind Keith Kelly and Mark Kenneally at the Irish National Cross Country Championships in Santry, Dublin 9 in February. I won Ballycotton 10 for the 3rd time a week later. I finished 5th at the Great Ireland Run in the Phoenix Park in April. Along with Mark Kirwan, Kevin Moriarty and Richie Corcoran, we helped Raheny win the National Road Relays and I finished 2nd to Sean Connolly in the National 10k Road Championships. The first quarter of the year was polished off and phase 2 was about to start, and then suddenly it came to a halt.
Training on the track in early May I began to feel a numbing pain in my anterior tibialis (muscle at front of lower leg). I did what all us runners tend to do – I ignored it and carried on. The next day it wasn’t too bad, just a little tight. 2 days after the session I jumped out of bed to do a morning run and I could hardly walk. I carried on and had to stop after 2 minutes of limping. I had never had this pain before and it was alien to me. I began to seek out some medical advise on the matter. It was diagnosed as shin splints.
Shin splints are primarily injuries to the front and lateral side of the lower leg and seem to result from inflammation of the tendon on the tibia and also inflammation of the peroneal tendon. Shin splints are basically an overuse injury and are most common in runners. I always associated shin splints with overweight runners but it can occur to anyone – in fact, a lot of it depends on the way the foot strikes the ground and lifts up off the ground on take-off. The symptoms of shin splints are dull pains below the knee down to the ankle in the front of the lower leg. The pain is usually felt around the midpoint of the anterior tibialis muscle.
What are the causes of shin splints? Since it is an overuse injury, a common cause is a big increase in mileage or intensity, or both at the same time! Since the foot is landing and taking off more often due to an increase in mileage, it makes sense that the posterior and anterior tibialis muscles are working harder and longer and become fatigued. This is certainly the case for me. I increased my mileage at the end of April and I also increased the intensity by switching to the track. My foot was slapping the track more and more often and at a quicker rate. I was also wearing racing flats which leave little or no cushioning or support. With hindsight, it seems so obvious to me now but at the time I could not figure out why this was happening so suddenly.
How are shin splints diagnosed? Usually an MRI scan will pick up this injury. This is what I had done and it revealed some damaged muscle fibres in the area and also some damage to periosteum of the tibia bone on my left side. This was caused by the tendon and pulling off the bone and also pulling on the anterior tibialis muscle.
How is shin splints treated? Theories on this used to suggest total rest was the best form of treatment. Nowadays the trend seems to recommend a “relative rest” approach. This basically means no impact and lots of swimming, aqua jogging, cycling and cross training. Some core work and weights should also be included. This is what I did at my place of work at DCU, Glasnevin, Dublin 9. They have a state of the art gym there and I put myself through hell in that gym every day to try and make up for any lost fitness. Eventually I tried a few runs and now I seem to be doing ok. I missed roughly 8 weeks of running because of shin splints but now I am back to running every day. I started back running for 2 miles every second day and then increasing that by a mile or 2 per day every week until 6 miles felt good and then I started to put back to back days together. I am not out of the woods yet as the area is still tender, so I am not back to full training. I am now jogging easy for 7 miles every day and supplementing that training with weights, core work and lots of stretching and massage. It’s the little things that matter most!!! I will take each day as it comes and hopefully I can gradually get back to where I was in the next few weeks – and that’s the key word: Gradually.
Vinny Mulvey August 2009
www.vinnymulveyfitness.com
[email protected]
