Thread: HELP! medial calf & shin pain...

hi... I've got my first sprint distance triathlon this sunday ... unfortunately, I'm experiencing pain in both legs when I run ... medial calf & shin... I'm wearing calf sleeves, have new orthotics and running shoes, ice everyday, and have been taking ibuprofen or aleve...

I've trained hard for 12 weeks, and I just want to do this one race and then I'll rest my legs (I promise!).

is there any type of taping or splinting I can do to alleviate the pain while running???? or any other advice??? thank you :)

Hi Abby, sorry I diddn't get to see your post until this A.M., so how did the race go? what if anything did you do for your pain?, it looks like you did everything except topical ointments. I find these to work very well for me in almost all parts of my body.
Let us know how it went and what you did, this might help others who have suffered the same things.
Spike.

hi... thanks for asking...

surprisingly, I was the female masters overall winner :p ... even after freaking out in the water and having shin splints... but what an awesome first triathlon experience!!!

I dealt with the shin splints by putting Biofreeze on and wrapping both legs before the run... after a mile, I stopped and took the wraps off and ran much better... still painful but I managed to cross the finish line. oh, and I also have been taking Aleve... which has really helped with the inflammation.

so, from my personal experience with shin splints, I've found that Aleve, Biofreeze, Asics Nimbus VII's, Sole modable orthotics, Bioskin calf supports, ice, ice and more ice, and stretching have all helped me run throughout the triathlon camp... I'm now ready to take 2 weeks off from running... and hopefully return to running without shin splints... :)

If your taking Ibuprofin, make sure your taking at least 600mg of it, or else it is not an anti-inflammatory medication. DON'T TAKE ON AN EMPTY STOMACH. I use to suffer from shin-splints myself when I first started (seriously) running. Stay off hard surface's and find path's or trails that are dirt or clay. Then slowly build up to hard surfaces. Follow the R.I.C.E acrynm; Rest, Ice, Compress, and Elavate. Rest is rest is rest. Iceing will contrict vessels which inturn slows down inflammation and act as an external analgesic. Compression will help prevent swelling from building. Then elevating will drain the fluid (swelling) back into the vessels. I hope this helps you out. It work perfectly with me but took about 3 weeks before I can run long distances again. Good luck.
Visit SMI - Palo Alto, CA for streching exercises.