so the barefoot running thing got me thinking…

about 6 years ago i had to stop playing hockey due to, what was diagnosed as, tibial compartment syndrome.
from the description the physio gave me, its like a glorified shin splint.

however, i've seen about 4 different physios, and none of them give me the same answer, some say syndrome, some say splints, some say its the same thing, one even said i may need operating on. so basically i don't know what i have.

all i know is that after 3-400m of running i get a burning pain on my shin – the softer muscular bit rather than the bone. this muscle (on the outside of the shin bone) has always been quite pronounced. the pain consinues for up until the next day, and its really quite painful at times.

as a result, i can no longer play hockey, which i loved, and was actually pretty good at. i am also a lot less fit than i was.

i want to get fitter and shift some weight, which cycling seems unable to do currently.

should i be looking at this barefoot running technique? my friends who have started running recently are all really fit at the moment, and i'm jealous.

anyone any experience of tibial compartment syndrome?

ta

Funny thread…I had a bilateral decompression of both my calfs last year….my left leg looks like im carrying a small quantity of illegal substances sneaked beneath the skin the right one looks tighter than it did before..

Need to go back and get these sorted!

dunno what that is, but it sounds nasty…

guess i was fortunate tha a youth of hockey playing and cycling gave me well toned and pronounced leg muscles, shame the rest of my body is nothing like that!

tom , my mate got really bad compartment syndrome when he was training for the raf – basically ignored all my advice and went out and ran as hard and as fast as he could till he couldnt run any more. Spent most of the next year on crutches and pain killers before ultimately having an operation to sort it – fixed him up good and well. BUT he had all sorts of specialists look at it who all agreed surgery (both inside and outside of the raf)and its not something id take lightly neither – he cant really wear shorts anymore in public places as folk just stare at his legs/scars and of course the obligatory surgery isnt always best and can go wrong.

certainly surgery is something i'm pretty keen on avoiding! heard its an 18 month recovery? to be honest, if its so bad i'd rather not have the operation, and just live my life without being able to run…

i've managed over 5 years without running, sure i'll last another 60odd…
not that i want to though!

I had this bought on by excessive running on hard ground on a very regular basis. Sprint/explosive action obviously causes more niggles though.

Overuse, in other words. Imagine – 3 times your bodyweight hitting the ground with every foot strike.

Took a couple of months off, then ran off-road as much as possible. Ankles became very strong, different action.

It may well be worth having your biomechanics analysed. A physio with sports expertise may help.

I wish you well, can certainly sympathise with the pain. It's miserable. As it was, I had to give up running, not due to this though.

I've had shin splints (well specifically medial tibils stress syndrome) and my physio has said I had slight compartment syndrome which was basically on the other side of my shin to the shin splints, giving me refered pain in my foot. No amount of physio could shift either, until I went for a massage and was told my psoas (sp?) muscle was in spasm and it had made my left leg a couple of inches shorter than my right. He worked on my psoas muscle and the my shin and foot was 90% overnight as my legs were both the same length again and my stride was no longer imblalanced. Two more massages later it was totally gone (the psoas muscle is in your back/abs so i hadn't even thought it could be something like that) I would say its worth getting another opinion if you can. plenty of calf and shin stretching, icing the shin, and strengthening your calves should help a bit.

My personal opinion is I'd avoid barefoot running. I think it might be ok if you have perfect gait/stride but otherwise I think you need the support. Theres a good article in this months runners world about it.

My biggest concern/grip about running is the impact it puts through my body. I love running, but i get niggles from it and my body is taking a while to adapt to longer miles whereas on the bike its much easier.

Myofascial Release can work wonders with cases of compartment syndrome.

Its a manual technique for stretching/unsticking soft tissue fascia [the skin of a muscle,if you like]

Very effective indeed.

I had it on one shin from running, I used to get a lump on the shin which was the muscle pushing through the tissue. Really painful, front of my shin felt rigid. Had the option of having several slits made to release the pressure, but went to see a specialist in biomechanics – had a gait analysis and had some orthotics made to put in my trainers. They correct the angle of of your foof moving the pressure to wear it should be. It worked a treat for me and never had a problem since. Well worth looking into

edit: angle of the foot – moving the pressure to where it should be

bloody ipod! – i have fallen arches to a certain degree and this in turn makes the knee point in so everything is out from the foot landing right the way through to push off

have a read here: http://www.drfoot.co.uk/Running_Orthotics.htm

Seen various treatments work for it from surgery through to lots of foot and core exercises to sort out muscle imbalances which improved running gait. Orthotics can be part of a solution

My personal opinion is I'd avoid barefoot running. I think it might be ok if you have perfect gait/stride but otherwise I think you need the support. Theres a good article in this months runners world about it.

They may well be right, however it might be worth also watching the first 3 minutes for the other viewpoint.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_usxrvKvus

Thinking about starting to run again and just by chance the guys from Sauchony visited my gym with their magic slo-mo camera. Watching how your feet hit the deck with a control shoe and then with a suport shoe is amazing. My left foot in particular rolled inwards quite a lot therefore I need/was reckomended a shoe with lots of correction. Filmed again and the difference in the way foot landed is amazing. Hopefully that will save my Achilles/knees and back ache once I get started

thanks for the advice 🙂 i'll have a good read of it, and look up the different technical words on wiki!!

totally forgot to mention that i am flat footed, and wore insoles for about 3 years. don't wear them now, as they were a PITA ( 😐 ), guess i should try and get another set.

thing is, some of the physios i saw claimed to be sports ones, but i may look into a 'proper' sports physio, see if i can afford it. guess it needs dedication from me…

interestingly badminton, hiking and squash cause no problems. they come as soon as i run anywhere properly.

ball ache 🙁

Hopefully that will save my Achilles/knees and back ache once I get started
Fingers crossed!
Though it might also be worth asking the Saucony people if there's any evidence their control shoes actually reduce injury rates.

Haile Gebreselassie, pronating like crazy:

Doesn't seem to have done him any harm.

Ian Munro – Member

Hopefully that will save my Achilles/knees and back ache once I get started
Fingers crossed!
Though it might also be worth asking the Saucony people if there's any evidence their control shoes actually reduce injury rates.

True, but most mags advice is to go and get a "proper" fitting.
I did not buy there and then, will be going up to the City for a "proper" fit in a couple of "proper" shops with "proper" advisers.
Used to use Sauchony squash shoes when I could find them, they were for me imo the best I had found.
I have avoided running for yrs due to my various aches and pains but thought I ould at least give it a try. Miles & miles of biking & walking are not shifting the weight 😕
What else is there out there?