I have seen several of the contestants on the show with bandages of some sort on their shins. One looks like a compression bandage of some sort that encases the whole calf like a sock. The other looks like a piece of tape that runs vertically along the length of the shin.

I have pretty persistant shin problems, so I'm always looking for new ideas. Does anyone know what these treatements are called and what specifically they are designed to do?

I think that is what that was. Ron was wearing it right? I had assumed he hurt his shin and needed a bandaide.

I wondered about the compression things too. It could be for muscle support. And/or, people who have issues with varicose veins, need compression.

Yes Ron was wearing the compression sock. Dane was wearing the stip along his shin.

One constant that I have had over the years when working out has been shin pain. I dont know that you could call it shin splints but it is similar. It is always in my right leg, from the top of my ankle to a inch or two below my knee. It occurs when I do a high impact work out on a treadmill. The pain does not occur when I use an elliptical or bike. Unfortunately, I am now on a more stick budget. I am getting married in December and looking to lose weight both for the wedding and honey moon (my fiance wants to go horse back riding and they have a 300lb weight limit). As such, I am forced into working out at home on the treadmill I have. (although I am varying it with Bob's Yoga and Jillian's burn, neither of which causes problems)

I make sure to stretch very well before and warm up. I have tried taking Ibuprofen and Aleve and different combination's before the workout. Neither seems to work. Its not that the pain is unbearable, I can ignore it. The problem is eventually, the pain or swelling seems to make my right foot not want to work, it will just start to sort of drag on the treadmill, making it very hard to keep going.

I enjoy doing a 25 min HIIT schedule, but it does not matter if i am doing this, or a slower 3 mph or so pace for an hour or more. The pain starts and does not stop. Any suggestions or Ideas would be greatly appreciated.

What you have described, definitely sounds like chin splints, especially since you said it is only a problem during high impact activities.

Chin splints occur when the sheath tendons that attach the muscle to the front of your chin are damaged. Basically, every time you contract the muscles in the front of the chin that work to pull your forefoot upwards, the pull on the damaged tendons. That's why it can be so painful.

There are 2 things you should be doing to treat them...
1. Massage the area with a foam roller several times a day to relax the muscle.
2. Ice the area before bed, or after working out.

Sometimes new shoes can solve the problem right away, but considering that you are only having pain in one chin, I might suspect that you are moving that leg through a different gait than the other one. There are several things that can cause chin splints.

When you bring your foot to the treadmill, are you landing on your heel? This is not necessarily bad, but can put extra stress on the chin due to the jarring that can take place.

Do you stretch your hips? If you have one side that is tighter than the other, it can cause you to have a shorter stride on one side, and then one leg will take on more work than the other.

Do you focus on pulling your knees up when you run? If you are kicking your foot forward, you will end up holding the foot up the entire run instead of allowing it to relax and stretch out between strides.

The best suggestion I have is to use the incline on your treadmill. I hope yours has incline. Do not run at all. Only walk on an incline of 5 degrees or more. This should get your heart rate up effectively. Also, it will force you to land on your forefoot which will absorb the impact better.

Thanks for the info, I too have a problem with shin splints, usually on my left leg. I have always wondered why that was or what I could do about it. It ends up usually that I cannot even pull up my foot to land a step, I end up using my hip to lift my leg. Again, thanks.

Thank you very much for the advice. I did have a few questions and one addition that I forgot to mention before.

1. The pain goes away within 10 to 20 mins of getting off the treadmill, do I still need to ice.

2. I've been told before by a orthopedic surgeon that I have tears in the fascia around the muscle in that area. This results in small bulges in the area. The site it's self is not actually any more painful, although it would be hard to tell since the entire area hurts. He said there was not much to be done for this problem as surgery would only be temporary. Does this change your advice at all.

Again, that you for your help

edgeofdawn, stretching is going to be important for you to make sure you don't cause another problem with your low back and hip area while compensating for the chin pain.

Jazzgod,
1. Yes, ice is not just for pain. It gets the swelling down which allows new blood to flow into the area which helps the healing process.

2. It doesn't change my advice. When you tear your fascia, your body rebuilds the tissue with scar tissue (just like it would any other dammaged tissue) which will be harder and less elastic. The bulges are probably some swelling, and some scar tissue. Over time, this will get worse if you continue to have the same problems. Orthopedic surgeons will tell you to have surgery or not to have surgery. Preventative measures aren't their area.

You may want to look into getting orthotics for your shoes. Maybe you have a structural issue in your foot that is affecting your gait.

Okay .... I have finally gotten back to running/walking and I have been beset with excruciating lower leg pain. From what I know of shin splints, these occur in the anterior lower leg area. My pain is along the sides of both legs (about 4-5" below the knee, along the side and extending into my ankle) - it's a painful burning sensation that feels like a very taut rubberband. I keep walking and eventually the pain dulls about 1.5 miles or so into the walk. It is very difficult making it to that point. I have the heart and drive to continue, but it would be sooooo much easier without the pain.

Has anyone experienced this before? Any solutions? I do stretch for about 10 minutes before I walk/run. I'm considering getting an appointment with a sports doc to see if we can figure out what is going on. There is a physical therapy teacher that works on my hall and she seems to think my problem is lateral shin splints - but I'm not sure.

Thanks for any help or suggestions!

SORRY - Just noticed I misspelled shin splints on the title for the thread... can I get a Moderator edit??? Thanks!

Shin splints absolutely suck. My only recommedation would be to look at the shoes you wear and to consider having an absorbant insert (ex. Superfeet). I know some shoe stores provide some really good service in these regards (in Canada the Running Room is excellent). Barring that maybe a walk/run (leaning much more on the walking side) to keep the momentum.

[quote name='The_Gooch' date='Apr 23 2009, 02:45 PM' post='3837529']
Shin splints I've gotten them when I started running and did too much too soon. They take a while to go away,you might haveto lessen the intensity for a while then buildup slowly again. I would think that all of the contestants on this show would have shin splints and cronic muscle pain al over for that matter. The way they threw them intothe heavy workout, assuming none of them were doing workouts before they got to the ranch.

Thanks guys! Maybe I started out doing too much. A friend suggested I walk for a mile or so before attempting any type of running ---sounds like your advice Gooch!! We'll see how I progress, I just know I'm not stopping!!

Everything you ever wanted to know about chin splints...

http://boards.nbc.com/nbc/index.php?showto...hl=chin+splints

Thanks!

My problem is a little different than most with shin splints. My pain occurs with plantar-flexion (extending toes forward increasing angle between foot and lower leg) not with dorsoflexion (pulling foot back towards leg, decreasing angle) like most people with shin splints - I was told to continue and the pain should ease up but it is only getting worst. Last night the lateral portions of both of my lower legs went numb (like when a body part "falls asleep") ...I could take my thumbnail and run it down the sides of both legs and not feel it - typically when I walk the pain stops about 1.5 miles and then I can walk without pain - the last two nights the pain has been continuous...to the point of vomiting - and I have a fairly high pain tolerence. I am stretching before and after (last night I could not do any heel raises after walking - I thought my legs would explode) and I am icing each leg down when I get home. It feels hopeless. I finally have the diet down and I have the drive and heart to see this through, but my freakin' legs aren't cooperating! I talked to the best ER doc I have ever worked with and he studied my gait and ordered some blood work. He thinks with time it should ease up if I stick with it, but he did suggest low impact cardio - biking, elliptical machines, swimming - then when I am better conditioned and have some weight off, I could attempt to pick back up with the walking and running. Guess i'm joining the gym!! =)

I have had a lot of success with a boot my podiatrist gave to me. It goes all of the way up to just under my knee and holds my foot in a gentle flexed position. It loosens up my achilles tendon and that somehow makes me less prone to shin splints.

Any time I work out high impact I need to follow-up with the boot for a few hours on each leg or I'll pay for it. The maintenance is a annoying, but at least I'm not miserable with pain when I try to workout anymore!

I echo the sentiment about checking out the shoes. I know people who try to run in shoes they have had for five years. Sorry, that isn't going to work. Any cushioning in them is gone. I use 1-2 pairs of shoes per year and you need to replace shoes more often if you are overweight/obese because of the added pounding on the cushion wears them out quicker.

When I started running, I used a pair of cross trainers and never had shin splints worse than that. My hubby took me to get a new pair of shoes the next weekend and I haven't really had any trouble since.

I also would suggest going to a specialty running store. I got a pair of running shoes (a very popular brand) at a big chain store and they hurt me terribly! Once I got fitted for a pair that worked with my arch and pronation, I have had no problems with pain since. The shoes there are more expensive, but definitely worth the cost to be pain free.

I also treated myself to a good ice down once I got home when I had my shin splints. I froze ice in a small paper cup and tore the cup down to make almost an applicator for the ice on my leg. It felt so good after a long run! Good luck.