Shin Splints?!?!

As a high school girls' track coach... I see a lot of shin splits. I'd say it's our #1 problem. It tends to be a much bigger problem for women than men. It happens a lot at the beginning of the season when girls that have been pretty sedentary for awhile, all of a sudden increase their exercise levels dramatically. Running and jump roping are particularly hard on the shins, knees, and ankles because of the high-impact, jarring nature of these activities. Usually as fitness increases, the problem goes away. However, in the mean time you need to lighten your load. Try switching to a biking, swimming, or the eliptical machine to maintain your fitness while providing relief to your shins. Also, you should ice your shins (20 minutes on, 20 minutes off) after exercising. Ibeprofen also helps with the swelling and should give you some pain relief.

Thanks everyone!!!

The weird thing is that it doesn't hurt when I jump rope..which is why I'm thinking maybe it's not shin splints..but if I do a lunge or try to take off my shoe with my other foot it kills!

I will be sure to look into the massage, xrays and I'll take some advil & ice my legs for starters. Maybe I can convince Jeff to help out!

I had the same problem a couple of months ago. I was doing a boot camp and doing alot of running. I went to the feet fleet store and got some good running shoes. It did help some but the doctor said that its the pounding on the ground that keeps hurting it. She told me to ride the bike or the elipical. And to ice down my chins. you should have an x ray to make sure there are no fractures.

I too had shin splints last year. I went for sports massages (she massaged my IT band and shins because thats where I had issues). She basically told me I had to stop running to let my shins heal, or I will get stress fractures. Sure enough, I quit running and let them heal. I bought a treadmill 6 months after, and started all over. Haven't had a problem though. If you go get a massage, ask if he/she can put the 'freezing' gel on first (otherwise it will kill!). It's a topical gel that kind of numbs the area so it's not as painful. Good luck!

Ice and ibuprofen will help out. Fill up a paper cup with water and freeze it. Tear off the outer edge and use the cup to ice along your leg (ice massage). Also, get your feet checked out and get an xray to rule out stress fractures. Stress fractures in the tibia (shin bone) are common with increasing your activity quickly. You might need orthotics (custom arch supports) or try over the counter insoles such as Superfeet (found at REI and other sporting goods stores). Shin splints can be from overuse or overpowering of the muscles groups in your leg.

Make sure you balance your exercises with calf exercises and exercises for the front of your legs. A good exercise to prevent shin splints is to lay in bed on your stomach and hang your feet just of the end of the bed. Pull your toes up(toward your head) against the mattress. This will strengthen your anterior muscles (shin) but only do this one the shin splints feel better or it will aggravate it more). Good luck and keep exercising! Try swimming or biking or elliptical to keep the inches off.

Thanks everyone...I posted an update!