Shin splints? (I think)

[GregMonfredo]

I've been trying to add sprints and stuff like that a few times a week, but lately I've been getting bad pains in my shins, especially when I stop running. Like the other day, I was at the 1/4 mile track near my house. I was running the straight aways and walking the curves. When I would stop running and start walking, the pain in my shins would be so bad that I had to walk very slowly.

It almost feels like all of a sudden someone stabbed a 10lbs knife into each of my shins. This used to happen to me every so often when I'd walk for a long distance (a couple miles) when I was younger and couldn't drive.

Anyway, is this shin splints, and what can I do to help this?

[Ben Booker]

Sounds like, if your not used to running or haven't for a while then that could be it. Increase your flexibilaty. If your doing it for cardio use an aliptical or bike (something "low impact"), but if you doing for football or sport specific then let it fully go away and start back progressivly, and make sure that you wear the right shoes and try to run on grass instead.

Good luck bro.

[rod johnson]

Greg, take a five pound plate and attach a rope to it. Then site on the edge of a chair. place the rope around the end of your foot "with shoes on" and curl it. Bringing you toes as far up as they can go and let it down as far as it can go. After i started doing these i haven't had a problem since.

[GregMonfredo]

Greg, take a five pound plate and attach a rope to it. Then site on the edge of a chair. place the rope around the end of your foot "with shoes on" and curl it. Bringing you toes as far up as they can go and let it down as far as it can go. After i started doing these i haven't had a problem since.

My gym has a little machine thing floating around where you stick your foot on top of a plate and under an rubber piece then raise your toes up. I dunno if that made any sense, but it's like a reverse calf raise. Instead of raising your heels you raise your toes. I'll start using that a couple times a week.

Thanks guys

[Ryan Rhodes]

I was about 240# doing the decathlon back in the day and shin splints hit me hard. My coach recommended getting new high end running shoes and they helped quite a bit. Brooks Beast are hands down the best big guy running shoes on the market. Asics Gel Kayano are my second favorite. I also started doing anterior tibialis exercises (with the apparatus Rod mentioned) at the gym followed by alternating heat and cold pads post workout. Works like a charm.