My marathon training is going ok, but the muscles at the front/outside of my shin get really sore. Foam roller is tough to use as it’s bloody painful, stretching helps a bit (pulling foot down).

I don’t think it’s shinsplints (which is a jarring pain?), more of the usual muscular pain but tender near the bone.

Any hints/tips?

compartment syndrome ? from too much too quick

sounds similar to what my mate got when in training for RAF – ended up with some great scars down his shins to improve the issue.

If its shinsplits you’ll know by running your hand up the shin/tendons by it (go fairly deep). It will be *incredibly* painful/tender on or right next to the shin, and feel kinda grisley to touch. I wouldn’t call shinsplints a jarring pain though and mine wasn’t right on the shin, it was very slightly off to the side of it (where the tendons/liagaments attached to it)

The tendons/muscles around my shins always got tight from running, an exercise to strengthen them from my physio: Lean with back against wall, drop down into a fairly deep squat so thighs are at knee level, keep back and head against wall and life toes/ball of your feet up towards your shin and lower down as slowly as you can, ideally for a count of 10.

Try using your fingers and oil to massage shin muscles instead of foam rollar which is what i do, its HORRIBLE but works (and its what physio would do too).

Take a few days of from running and then try the rule my physio gave me. If you run for 30mins and its ok/a little sore but the pain goes away after 30mins of finishing exercise, you can continue to run for 30mins a few times a week. If it doesn’t go away, rest up, then try a 15min run with the same pain/time rule and so on.

Otherwise get to a physio asap to get it sorted so you are fit for paris! 🙂

Sounds like shinsplints to me. At its worst I used to do an excruciating massage down the side of my shin bone to relieve it a little (after physio advice). I think it finally went away with rest and a change in footwear.

Oh yeh, check your trainers are still ok. I find i get sore shins when the cushioning starts to go. The rest of the shoe is fine/tread is still fine. I get way less than the recommended miles out of them but its better than sore shins and then i just use them for kicking around in. If i get new shoes as soon as my shins ache, i’ll avoid any issues. You’ve had yours for a while, i’d ditch them and get new ones!

Your symptoms sound similar to some I had last year – sharp muscular pain very localised near the bone so it felt almost like the bone was bruised.

I went to see this guy: http://www.carnegiesportsphysiotherapyclinic.co.uk/theteam/graeme-everard-mcsp-hpc

Turned out that a left ankle injury 3 years ago had caused me to overcompensate slightly, which led to slight misalignment in my hips. My core muscles learned this position and stayed in that position – a muscle on the right of my spine was shortened and rock-solid.

Manipulation of that core muscle, a crack of my pelvis and plenty of back rollering and glute firing exercises and I’m right as rain.

My google skills would never have got me anywhere near understanding that lot!

muscle on the right of my spine was shortened and rock-solid.

psoas muscle? mine went into spasm and caused my left leg to be very slightly shorter which gave me shin splints due to leg imbalance. Once i got my psoas muscle to stay long, my legs were same length again and i no pain – i always know when its gone into a spasm as i’ll get shin pain for no reason during a run. Its so much more complex than just over doing it/needing new shoes etc.

psoas muscle?

That’s the one! Little bugger.

I forgot to say why it hurt my shin: the core is effectively a shock absorber. If the muscle is shortened it can’t absorb the impact which, of course, has to be absorbed somewhere. It happened to be absorbed in my shin which isn’t designed to do that.

Ah bugger…shinsplints *winces*

Sounds easier not to run…

Hint: go to see a physio
Tip: then go to see a podiatrist

@ the teaboy, nice to know someone with similar issues! I need my psoas muscle massaged every now and then to keep it long, mine got damaged in a nasty bike crash about 7 years ago when i landed mostly on my left side. I was relieved to find the cause having tried the rest, new shoes, walk run etc with none of it working – which of course it wouldn’t if i was wonky!

Ah bugger…shinsplints *winces*

Al, don’t run anymore on it, catch it early and it might not mean to long off running. Get to a physio for treatment/acupuncture. You can treat it partly yourself by ice, massage to loosen the muscle and your compression tights too. Streches your calves lots too. Don’t over do the massage/foam rollar though as you could make it worse. Cross train on the bike as long as it doesn’t make it worse. *sends healing vibes*

aracer – Member
Hint: go to see a physio

In case my waffling wasn’t clear enough, this is what I was saying! It’s complicated.

@dirtygirl – once he showed me, it just made so much sense. I’m now much more aware of how I stand, walk and even try to make sure I’m balanced when I carry the shopping! Glad you got it sussed.