Forums >Health and Nutrition>Severe Shin Cramps, unable to flex foot.
I'm new to RA and I'm hoping those running gurus out there can help me. I'm not new to running, I used to log 30 miles a week and never had any problems till I started to change up my routine. Instead of waking up at 4am before work to run, I began to run in the evening after dinner . Used to be when ever I ran at any other time than at the a** crack of dawn, my shins would cramp up and I'd be forced to plod along flat footed for a few miles till it relaxed. Even on race days I was sometimes unable to even meet PR because of this issue. . These new night runs almost killed me, literally. The streets were so much more congested I was close to being a smear on the road twice in one 7 mile run one night. I quickly went back to running in the AM. But the shin cramps followed me. What used to be an easy 5 miles turned into the most painful 2 miles in my life. I made the walk (hobble) of shame back home to the stationary bike.The pain and tightness from that morning lingered in my shin for the next 3 days with or without compression socks...and here I am.
A little background, I work at a desk 5 days a week and heels are mandatory for ladies for professional appearances only, I'm the HR Assistant so I am required to lead by example. I love my heels. So that's not a problem. Or maybe it is. If it is I will torch all my Jessicas in a heart beat for the pain they caused. Also, I just recovered from Achilles Tendonitis brought on by my casual walking shoes where the heel cup was lower than the ball of my foot and put too much strain on the tendon. I placed cushions under the heel cup and it's miraculously all better. The achilles tendonitis did not hurt while running though. I bought a new pair of Asics running shoes a couple months ago and while maybe a little tight, they feet great. I didn't go cheap either. I've always worn asics and I'll be buying a new pair here soon. They seem to fit my feet great but next time I will definately get fitted and see if I need a specific kind of running shoe (pronated.stability, blah blah) and I'm definately not flat footed.
I have not been to a podiatrist or sports medicine doctor yet but I will if necessary. I ice the area multiple times a day as well as roll around on the muscle roller. When icing, I just place a huge ice pack over my whole lower leg as there is a sharper pain toward my ankle on the top of my leg but a soreness and tightness all along my shin, slightly to the left of the tibia. My right leg is more painful than my left. At the moment the whole shin is very tight, even without flexing it. I've provided the following pictures of my leg with starbursts to indicate where the tightness and cramps are.
Please help me. I havn't rain in 3 days. I've walked the dog this morning for 3 miles with no pain at all, so I know it's just running related. For the next week I will ice and stretch and massage and stick to cycling till I'm ready for a test run. I have my first half in Tyler, TX this year...and I need to start training for those hills.
I have tight shins on a regular basis. I do the kneeling shin stretch daily, typically in a hot bath, but sometimes just right on the floor. It looks like this:
Since the walking doesn't seem to bother them, I would add more walking in than running until you get back into a routine.
You say the shoes are tight, but fit great. In my opinion, tight shoes does not equal great fit. You may want to look at that first.
When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?