Why do my shins hurt? (Read 1880 times)

And what can I do to make it better?

Stop banging them off the coffee table. That usually works for me. We need more information.......Where do they hurt? When do they hurt? What were you doing before and during the pain? What have you tried? Or are you just venting?

I have shin pain, too. I know it's because I was training too fast with the wrong shoes--the former because RA folks warned me, the latter because I went to a good running store today. They fit me for a better over-the-counter orthotic than the Dr. Scholl's I had been using and recommended a shoe with a more stable midsection next time. But for now, I'm stuck worrying about my shin! I'm resisting going to the doctor because my primary care folks are idiots but I know they won't refer me to a sport medicine type sight unseen. I'm having pain midway between my ankle and my knee, on the crest but not the flat of my tibia. It seems to go into the calf a little, too, but the bone is tender to the touch. PLEASE don't be a stress fracture! For now, I'm not running (which makes my brain even more frantic,of course) and elevating. I need to be better about ice. And my acupuncturist gave me a moxibustion stick, which is worth a try. Just getting some of my worries out here. Any support or suggestions would be really appreciated. Or you can just troll my log and roll your eyes at how silly I am. MTA: I realized my resistance to seeing the doctor is silly. I made an appointment for tomorrow.

Thank you! Weird, but with that first stretch, the classic "runner's stretch," I have to put my feet way way apart to feel anything in my back leg...

Went to the doctor, and it was as unhelpful as I predicted it would be. She didn't even know you could get a stress fracture in your tibia! But she consulted with someone else in the practice who knows sports medicine, and he said that because it happened on one specific run and stress fractures usually build, it's more likely that I tore some of the muscles around my shin. I'm supposed to not run for a couple more weeks, and if it still hurts, go get an xray (bone scans, of course, being too expensive). Bah! I think they're probably right, but I kind of wanted someone to have a fix so I could run again right away. Hey Greg-- when I sit on my knees to stretch my shins, I feel it in my ankles, not my shins. What am I doing wrong? And obxgretchen--what's up? Where'd you go? Are your shins better? Thanks for listening to my rant.

I feel it there too, and I also have weak ankles and am working on them. It is stretching the muscle though ,it's just that you are feeling it in the weakest area first . I guess. Like endurance man said, We probably have imbalances and should work the whole package. I checked out your log and to me it doesn't seem like you are overdoing it ,but if you are having issues than your body is telling you different. I would just walk for about a week or so with a couple of jogs where you do that embarrassing shuffle thing I wrote about and see how it feels then. Oh, and continue stretching. Greg

I don't have to jog? You mean, it'll help to just do it walking? Pls. clarify.

When I started running and had shin pain, I did toe rises just about every day for a week, and the pain went away. I still do the toe rises a few times a week, just out of habit. If I'm at a meeting at work, I'll sometimes stand up and start doing toe rises (or I'll stretch my quads by pulling my foot to my butt). It's helped my running, but it really hasn't done much for my career.