TylerDCA says:

I went to my doctor last week. She is FINALLY sending me to get a bone scan (which we have pretty much ruled out anyway) to determine a stress fracture.

She says that if it isn't a stress fracture I should take 3-4 months off running.

Anyone have any experience with healing soft tissue injuries? To me 3-4 months seems excessive.

 Trevor says:

Tyler

I am suffering from the exact condition. I am training for the RCMP Academy. I had to delay a month already. I had a sports medicine specialist look at my shins. To rule out stress fracture on me he banged a tunning fork an then placed it on my shin bone. He said I would probably cry from the pain if I had stress fracture.
It is strange that you under pronate. I am told I over pronate. I've tried 4 different pairs of sneakers, physio, message, chiro, and orthotics. Nothing works. It really is the most frustrating thing I have ever experienced. I get jelious when I see people out jogging.
If you find a cure PLEASE post. :-)

 B-B-Q says:

Tyler,

Sounds like we are having very similar issues but mine are not as severe as yours. I am over 220 lbs and under pronate. I have the shin splint in exactly the same place as you but only in one leg. The first time it happened was after a run where I tried to push off harder on my toes. It was unbearable for a couple of days after that run. I am trying lot of stretching, massaging the soft tissue before running, anti inflammatory meds and not pushing off on my toes while running. It has gotten much better but I feel like I'm running a little too flat footed. I also have a problem with plantar fasciitis which is much worse than my shin splints. I hope things get better for you soon.

 mpkenny26 says:

Hey Guys,

I read all of our posts about shin splints & plantar fasciitis and I pose these questions to all of you? If your feet pronate or even supinate why is that? If our feet are designed to go through GAIT correctly why are they deviating from this position?

Let's keep this discussion going!

 TylerDCA says:

I read all of our posts about shin splints & plantar fasciitis and I pose these questions to all of you? If your feet pronate or even supinate why is that? If our feet are designed to go through GAIT correctly why are they deviating from this position?

I think the simple answer is that no one is perfect. Why some or prone to gaining weight and some are naturally athletic. Some have feet that do not provide the same stability. That is a fact of life.

I think a lot of my ankle problems stem from the abuse that they have taken from my ski racing/coaching. Nothing like having your feet crushed into a 'race fit' boot.

 mpkenny26 says:

I like your reply and you are right no one is perfect. But if we all have the same anatomical design and the ability to change then could it be possible to regain that correct foot strike, midstance and toe-off needed for the lower leg and foot to work correctly. I am going to challenge you.

I want you to think outside the box for a minute. Is it truely our feet and lower legs that are to blame? You know and I know the body doesn't move/run/jump with just your feet. If your body "WORKS AS A UNIT" so shouldn't we take that into consideration?

I would love to send you an article about this. Do you mind if I email to you?

 TylerDCA says:

Feel free to email. I have read an awful lot about running form. I spend a good deal of time working on different exercises for stabilizer muscles.

Yes I am hoping that in time I will be able to go back to a neutral shoe, after I have strengthened and rehabilitated my ankles.

All I know is that with my previous shoes I couldn't run.

 Casio says:

mpkenny26, why not post it (or a link to it) here?

 TylerDCA says:

Still waiting on the link...

 mpkenny26 says:

I have a PDF copy of the article here at work so it is easier to email which I just sent to Tyler. Casio if you are interested I could send it to you as well.

 morphic.poly says:

Hi, I picked up this thread while on a web search and promptly created an account on this site. Having attempted taking up running on and off for a couple of years, I have finally seen a specialist no later than last week and he has diagnosed me with a shin splint on one shin only, just above the ankle. This pain has plagued me everytime I took up a running program. It sucks! I should add that I am not athlete, but that I am on a regular work out schedule, focused mostly on cardio work (spinning in particular).

Reading through your thread, tyler, and having done some research on my own, I am going to dare a few comments next and you let me know if I am completely off. Personally, I have tried a bunch of shoes and a bunch of insoles. I am a moderate flat footer, so have concentrated on stability and motion control shoes. I have run in Brooks Trance 6 (a piece of crap for me, because too narrow in the mid-foot zone), Mizuno Wave Renegade 3,
Brooks Beast 9 (I am no big guy, 172cm and 72kg), Mizuno Wave Nirvana, Saucony Grid Hurricane 9 or 12 (don't remember). In combination with some of these I have also tried insoles, Superfeet green, Sofsole graphite, New Balance for flat footers (that one is really weird), Spenco arch support. There are some differences among these combinations of course, but basically I don't think that I am going to find a magic solution. My problem is too accute and I am too much of a scientist myself in order to believe that there would be a magic solution somewhere hidden in all the rubber and what not other material science is going into shoes and soles these days. Bottom line, if someone recommends six shoes and tells you to buy three and try them out, what the heck is gong on dude? I have done countless gait analyses in various sports stores in NYC and most of the time the sales guys don't know what they are up to anyway, and again, I am pretty sure that you can see most of what you need by just inspecting your feet.

Sooo, I am myself totally desperate about getting over with shin splints and getting out of the gym. In your thread the two most interesting remarks to me seem those concerning running technique (Chi and Pose) and
then maybe a smarter way to go about training, warming up and stretching. I intend to explore these points myself asap. Frankly, I can't see what else it could be. As I said, my pain is recurring everytime I run more than 20 minutes, even after stopping for extended amounts of time. At the
same time, I watched some pro runners during the NYC marathon a couple of weeks ago and it was quite clear that these guys have a completely different style from what I am doing. Many of the fast runners almost look like they are going to fall forward at the next steps, but magically
remain running by staying upright with their next steps. V. different from what I am doing, I think I hit the ground with my heels big time. Anyway will keep you posted.

morphic

 TylerDCA says:

Hi Morph,

Just read your post. As for the recommending 6 pairs and buying 3, I'm not sure I was clear on the situation, but the guy doing it is regarded as one of the best podiatrists in my region. My standard evaluation of my ankles/feet, and walking indicates that I am dead neutral. While running there was a fair amount of pronation; determined through slow-mo video analysis.

After purchasing the 3 pairs, I went back to his office to have another analysis done, to determine once again (with slow mo video) whether I was over pronating or not. I then returned the pairs I didn't intend to keep.

I definitely feel that I have the right shoes now.

As for my current situation? I would say its pretty good/good. I need to take a 2-3 day break between runs, and I still keep my runs pretty short, but I don't really have pain during or after. Having said that I can still feel it, but its not what I would call painful, its just kind of there.

I have read ChiRunning, and intend to read Pose sometime over the winter, and I am working on some of the techniques. It seems to be helping.

I am at a point where I don't need Advil on a day to day basis to deal with the pain, but I do find that if I go to an unsupportive shoe for a day of walking around, I can feel it start again. I think I am going to put SuperFeet in almost all of my shoes.

Other than that I just keep working at it. I'm at a point where I am sure I can work through it though.

 lipsticklust says:

I actually currently have 4 bilateral tibia stress fractures. I am a long distance runner and on average do about 6 miles a day. There is a big difference between shin splints ans stress fractures. When running (or after) depending on where the pain exists should tell you what you have. In my experience, my leg pain was in my shins, but in 3 pinpoint locations in one leg, and one in the other. Usually shin splints are when your general shin hurts but not in a "pinpoint" location. Usually shin splints and or stress fractures result from running many miles on concrete so try and refrain from that or try to run on a softer surface!
Hope i was of assistance!