shin splints?

Question

im in high school track and i've been getting really bad shin splints and leg cramps lately. it's starting to hurt my proformance at practice and i was wondering what could help ease the pain when i run. i've been icing everyday at track for 20 mins but it doesn't help in the long term effects!!! help!!

Answer 1

I used to run CrossCountry and we did this stretch that was supposed to help shin splints

First you put the ball of your foot on like a wall or fence, while leaving your heel on the ground so you have like a right triangle formed. then you grab onto the top of the fence or whatever and pull, yourself in towards the fence. No bending at the knees and try to keep bending at the waist minimal. The point is to bend at the achilles tendin and it stretches that muscle in front of the shin.

Also another idea may be that you are not running properly with your feet. remember to roll through when you run... you land with you heelish area and roll through with you foot and push of with the toes.

If that doesn't help... I know i used to get minor shin splints from running on concrete and i ended up running in the grass, (though this may be because i didn't roll through very well... remember if it smacks the gound loudly everytime your foot hits, you are not rolling through very well)

Answer 2

I had that problem all through high school and college (I played football and ran track). The only thing that seemed to help cramps -- shin splints are cramps, too, in the long muscles on either side of your tibia -- was obsessive, maniacal stretching before and after practice/games/meets.

Answer 3

I used to get very bad shin splints in track as well. One thing that really helped me was having my coach or a friend tape my leg up for me. It helps to alleviate the pressure in a way. Ask your coach if they've heard about it and maybe they'll do it for you.

Answer 4

Start drinking a lot of milk....and sorry to say this, but chances are that you are going to have to quit. My friend had to quit when he got shin splints.