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leg pain (Read 1139 times)

mckgolfguy


    I a have just started running again and am on day two of a mile a day progression and am having horrible tightness in and around my shins and n knees. Any ideas to stop this or treat this the day after please help.
      You have 2 choices 1. Stop running for a while (probably not an acceptable option.) 2. Try introducing running a little more gentlly. Try walking quickly for 2 minutes and then run easy for 2 minutes, If you can do this pain free then slowly increase the running intervals and decrease the walking until you can do the entire mile running pain free. You don't mention the surface you run on. Sidewalks are the worst. Pavement is a little better. Groomed bicycle trails are the best if you have any. What ever you decide to do, don't run with the type of pain you are experiencing. Toughing it out never works and inevitably leads to injuries like shin splints, runners knee or stress fractures. As far as treatment goes you can try icing the affected areas before and after your runs . I hope you are running in proper shoes designed for running? I am not familiar with the program you are running ("mile a day progression) I hope that does not mean you are adding 1 mile to your total distance each day. The rule of thumb is no more than 10 % increase in your weekly milage. Hope this is helpful. Good Luck! Dave
      WHO FARTLEK"D ?
      zoom-zoom


      rectumdamnnearkilledem

        Ditto what Forrest said. Increasing by a mile a day sounds like recipe for injury so early on. Doing walk/run cycles for the first couple of weeks is a good idea, then easing gradually into things. The Couch-to-5k plan is really an excellent way to start. You could even jump ahead a couple of weeks if you feel up to it. When I started it a little over a year ago I began with week 3, since I had been doing kickboxing for quite some time and wasn't completely out-of-shape. k

        Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

        remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

             ~ Sarah Kay

        jEfFgObLuE


        I've got a fever...

          I had been doing kickboxing
          Hopefully Did doesn't bruise as easily as you do... Tongue

          On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office.  But you will wish that you'd spent more time running.  Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.

          zoom-zoom


          rectumdamnnearkilledem

            *kicks Jeff in the head* Wink k

            Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

            remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                 ~ Sarah Kay

            JakeKnight


              I a have just started running again and am on day two of a mile a day progression and am having horrible tightness in and around my shins and n knees. Any ideas to stop this or treat this the day after please help.
              Don't run every day. Make it every other day, for now. Go slow and easy. Walk a bit every mile. Be patient.

              E-mail: eric.fuller.mail@gmail.com
              -----------------------------

              jEfFgObLuE


              I've got a fever...

                Trying to bring this thread back on-topic (after returning kick): The pain you are experiencing is normal (unfortunately) for restarting running. Definitely start out with a mix of walking and jogging. As you get a little stronger, slowly increase the %of jogging vs. walking. Zoom-zoom, is there a URL for that couch-to-5k program you mentioned?

                On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office.  But you will wish that you'd spent more time running.  Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.

                zoom-zoom


                rectumdamnnearkilledem

                  Yep...here it is. Smile k

                  Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

                  remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                       ~ Sarah Kay

                  cubsworldchamps


                    Thanks for the walk/run advice. I am going to give it a shot. I haven't been able to run due to shin pain after just a short distance. I will ice my shins, too. I know this works if done as required. I was only running twice a week in 2003, but I cannot run at all, now. Gaining another 20 pounds the last few years didn't help, either. I'm going to give this run/walk and ice on the shins a serious effort. Thanks again.
                      a mile a day is way too much. find something comfortable... maybe a mile or 2 miles and just run that for a 10 days or so...then up it a half mile.
                      2008 GOALS GET BELOW 175 (at 175 now) RUN 6:00 MILE (at 6:29) RUN BELOW 25:30 5K RUN BELOW 55:00 10K RUN A MARATHON (DEC. 6TH - MEMPHIS - ST JUDE)
                        I know what you are going thru. I started trying to run 1-1-95 when I quit smoking. I grabbed a running mag and thought 3 miles was the least I should cover every run. I would run as far as I could, walk a while and then run some more till I coverd the three miles. This went on for eleven years, I would try to run my shins would get sore and I would have to stop. I always used stability shoes since I am very flat footed! last year I ran a track session with Coach Roy Benson and he said the problem was I was trying to go to far to soon. I ended up moving to orlando for a while and gave up on running till about eight weeks ago. I started out running a half mile three times a week for two weeks and then increased to three quarters of a mile. I am now up to a mile and a quarter three times a week. My shins don't bother me when I run but are tender after( my left more than my right). I also get runners knee on my right knee a little. Very frustrating considering I was very athletic growing up! Hope everything works out for you, I am hoping for the same for myself! I love running when I am able!

                        Take my advice: Pull down you're pants and slide on the ice

                         

                          So having weighed in with my tale, should we(or myself) still be having tenderness in the shin area after being conservative and training for a number of weeks? You veterans please weigh in, I value you're thoughts as I am sure mckgolfguy will also!

                          Take my advice: Pull down you're pants and slide on the ice

                           

                            cphase, Is the tenderness getting worse the more distance that you run, or does it always hurt about the same after each run? Are you icing it or taking advil after your runs? Are you stretching and doing strengthening exercises after runs and on off days? I chronically had shin splints until this year. When training, pretty much regardless of what my mileage increase was, my shins were tender after my runs. Mostly just when I made any kind of increase, even small ones. Holding steady at a particular mileage for a few weeks would resolve it, so maybe just take it slow. Early in the year I sprained an ankle pretty badly, and as part of my rehab, I was given a number of stretches to do every evening, and elastic band type strengthening exercises for my lower leg. I found that beyond just rehabbing, the exercises benefitted my lower leg alot, and my shins stopped hurting altogether. You might try doing stretching and things like toe raises even on your days off, and see if the added lower leg flexibility and strength help you out. If you are doing all those things, and still having issues, maybe look at your shoes, or have a professional look at your gait? Never done either of these, so I can't comment from experience, however.
                              Thanks for you're reply s.crissman! The tenderness is usually the same after each run, I do ice but don't always take anything for the tenderness. I always stretch before I run but not after and rarely on my off days. Each mileage increase i run for two weeks, took Monday off and cut back from a mile and a quarter to one mile today. Shins not as tender(my left shin is usually the culprit).My shoes are stabilty shoes and only have a few miles on them. Last spring Rot Benson checked my gait and didn't find anything wrong so I don't think that is it. Atleast they don't bother me when I run!!

                              Take my advice: Pull down you're pants and slide on the ice

                               

                                Sorry then cphase, I don't see anything terribly out of whack with what you are doing. Those distances and increases seem reasonable. If I were you, I'd make sure you stretch after your run as well as before, and possibly on non-running days, and I'd try doing a few band exercises or toe raises. Among stability shoes, there are different levels of cushioning. Maybe check where your shoes fall in the cushioning scale, and make sure they are aimed at someone with your frame size. You also aren't going super far. What you might find as you keep upping your distance is that when you get to a couple/few miles, and then cut back to a mile one day, that 1 mile won't leave you sore like they do now. Cutting back to 1 mile from 1.25 probably isn't enough to register, as far as your body is concerned. Maybe someone else has some suggestions...
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