A little lesson on shin splints

The thing about shin splints is...they royally suck. The "scientific" term for shin splints is medial tibial stress syndrome, but you don't really need to know that. All you need to know is that they hurt and they take a long time to heal. Although it feels a lot like the bone hurts, the pain is often caused by inflammation in the connective tissues that attach the muscles to the bone. Got that? 

Now, Google searches and some doctors will tell you that the "simple" (their word, not mine!) remedy for the common runner's ailment is R.I.C.E. That's Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. I'd like to add to that, but my acronym will change slightly. It's C.R.I.M.E.S. That stands for Compression, Rest, Motrin, Ice, Elevation, Strength. (They don't necessarily need to be done in that order, but I had to rearrange the letters to make an actual word).

Ask any runner if rest is "simple" and the answer will be a resounding NO! Not simple. Not at all. If my own experience is any indication, what a runner with shin splints will do is take a minimal amount of rest, and then overload on the rest of the recommended remedies in hopes of making up for it. Why rest? Well that one is obvious. Less stress on the shins = healing.

But what about the other suggestions? Well, compression (they make special socks/sleeves for this purpose) can stimulate circulation and support leg muscles and tissues to reduce impact and absorb trauma. Motrin reduces inflammation. Ice also reduces inflammation, and reduces pain. I'm not sure how it works, but apparently an inflamed, irritated muscle or tissue can lead to an accumulation of fluid, and elevating the lower legs to above heart level can reduce that. And finally, strengthening exercises for the calves and ankles can help prevent shin splints in the future, because stronger muscles lead to more stability, and can absorb shock, and reduce trauma.

If you're wondering why in the world I'm blathering on about shin splints, I'll clue you in - I have them. I know, sucks, right?

Here's a comprehensive list of the things I've tried to get rid of the nagging shin pain:

• Rest; first I took 2 days off from running. Yeah, 2 days was all I could mentally handle. Then, when that obviously wasn't enough, I took 5 days off. 5 days seemed to work better than 2. Duh.
• Ice; I tried a few different strategies. First, I plopped old-school lunchbox-style ice packs on my shins after running. When that didn't do much, I put a bunch of ice cubes into Ziploc bags and used those. That worked fairly well. But when I really got frustrated, I gave my shins ice baths. I filled a bucket (I used our mop bucket...shhh don't tell the darling boyfriend, he'd probably be grossed out that I stuck my sweaty, post-run feet into the bucket we use when cleaning our kitchen floor) with water and tons of ice, and soaked my shins for 10 minutes after every run. 
• Compression; never tried it. I spend lots of money on useless things, but calf sleeves isn't one of them.
• Elevation; well, I lay down a lot and sometimes I put my feet up. Does that count?
• Strength; I've read a lot about various strengthening exercises for the calves, and I've implemented some into my daily routine. I spell out the letters of the alphabet with my toes, do calf raises, and walk across the room on my heels, and then my toes.
• Motrin; I've got this one in the bag. Motrin before a long run, motrin after a short run. Ahhh, sweet, sweet relief.

There are other ways to prevent shin splints that are just common sense and don't apply to me. Replace shoes when they get worn out - check! I got new shoes at the first sign of shin pain, even though they only had about 200 miles on them and should not have needed replacing yet. Wear the right type of shoe for your foot and stride - check! I experimented with many, many different brands and models of sneakers before I finally settled on the Aasics Gel Cumulus line, and I went through three pairs with zero problems.

The moral of this story is: You can do everything right, and still get shin splints that you can't get rid of. W.T.F.??