suspicion turns to certainty

[Kerry Neilson]

At the two mile mark of today's run, it became all too clear: I'm injured. My shin hurt with every
step while walking back, so I guess I'm done for a while. Sweet. I'm not sure whether I'll try rest
only or what. Perhaps if I'm still feeling soreness walking in a few days I'll be off to the doctor.
I have some new shin stretches to try, but I'm not sure if I'll make things worse or not right now.

Why couldn't this have happened in the fall?

[Ed Prochak]

>My shin hurt with every step while walking back, so I guess I'm done for a while.

You griping *****, what's your problem? On your period?
--
Ed Prochak running: http://www.faqs.org/fags/running-faq/ family:
http://web.magicinterface.cum/~collins
--
"Two roads diverged in a wood and I I took a ****." robert "crackhead" frost

[Ozzie Gontang]

[[ This message was both posted and mailed: see the "To," "Cc," and "Newsgroups" headers for
details. ]]

In article <_75la.419900$S_4.488027@rwcrnsc53>, Kerry Neilson <kmneilso@REMOVEyahoo.com> wrote:

> At the two mile mark of today's run, it became all too clear: I'm injured. My shin hurt with every
> step while walking back, so I guess I'm done for a while. Sweet. I'm not sure whether I'll try
> rest only or what. Perhaps if I'm still feeling soreness walking in a few days I'll be off to the
> doctor. I have some new shin stretches to try, but I'm not sure if I'll make things worse or not
> right now.
>
> Why couldn't this have happened in the fall?

In article <susanhal-2703022053560001@bigears.psychology.dal.ca>, susanhal@is.dal.ca (Susan
Hall) wrote:

> A woman friend at work with no athletic background, not overweight, recently moved and has been
> walking the 4 km home every day from work. She was enjoying it a lot, but within just a week or
> two, has developed what I think are shin splints in just one leg. It's right on the front of the
> shin. She has proper walking shoes, I think. The pain is only present during the walk and subsides
> within 15-20 minutes after finishing.
>
> So far, she has kept walking but at a much slower rate, and the pain still comes. I got her to
> start icing every day when she gets home. Now the pain has extended down to include the front of
> the ankle and a bit into the top of her foot. If this were a beginner's exercise overuse injury, I
> would suggest stopping for a week and then resuming slowly, beginning with shorter walks. But she
> has no other transport to get home.
>
> Any ideas on things I should look for, or ask about, relating to her stride? It seems there are
> fewer variables to work with in walking than in running. I've wondered if she's raising her toes
> too much, or perhaps "clawing" them (trying to grab the ground a la Ozzie). Shoe fit might be
> something to look at too, I know, and arch support. Is it even possible to get shin splints so
> soon, and from such a light regimen, or could it be something else?
>
> Thanks, Susan

The anterior tibial muscle go right along where you are describing you friend's pain: the front of
the ankle and a bit into the top of her foot and then it goes and inserts as I said about 2 inches
behind the big toe on the inner edge of the foot.

If her arch is dropping it would put stress on the front shin muscle especially if it had tightened
up to protect itself when it was first overused.

One other exercise I have people do is grab the right shin with the left hand so that the finger
tips are in the middle of the shin muscle. With the right hand grab from the other side so the right
hand rest on top of the left hand.

Point the toe up. The shin mucles can be felt tightening. As the foot is relaxed and started to
point down, I push in with the fingertips into the shin like a nut cracker. Do it a number of times
with the idea that it's getting the shin muscle to relax.

[Kerry Neilson]

> There are lots of stuff out there to rehab your shins. The real issue is cause???? You have to
> figure out what you did to aggravate your shins - news shoes, change in terrain, too much of
> something. Without a discovering the cause the best you can the more likely it will happen again.

This is what concerns me. I really can't come up with much. I did take a long (20 day) break in
March and then really decided to get back at it. However, I never ran more than 12 miles in a
single week since that point. I ran one five miler, one four, and the rest were all 3.4s on a
course that I ran all winter. It's paved but the others were on dirt. The shoes did not change, and
they presently have about 235 miles on them. My final run on Tue was on somewhat more challenging
terrain. It was a singletrack with lots of obstacles (fallen trees). I only made it two miles into
that one before quitting.

I'm afraid I really don't have any good ideas. I can only think that I may have something a little
more serious, or maybe I just really, really need to get my shins in shape before I run at all.

[Miss Anne Throp]

Oh....your shin. I thought your subject line was referring to the way people laugh at you, behind
your back.

[Ozzie Gontang]

[[ This message was both posted and mailed: see the "To," "Cc," and "Newsgroups" headers for
details. ]]

Kerry,

Think of your problem as one in which there is no immediate cause & effect. Look at it more as the
"straw that broke the camel's back." Each little straw of muscle strain gradually adds up to where
shin is injured and now it causes you to have to really listen. Often we forget about really
listening and choose to create a causal relationship tying my problem or injury to a specific event,
while the reality is that the problem or injury was a compilation of 10,000 micro events.

In health and on the run, Ozzie Gontang Maintainer - rec.running FAQ Director, San Diego Marathon
Clinic, est. 1975

Mindful Running: http://www.mindfulness.com/mr.asp http://www.faqs.org/faqs/running-faq/

In article <4NAla.442184$S_4.500672@rwcrnsc53>, Kerry Neilson <kmneilso@REMOVEyahoo.com> wrote:

> > There are lots of stuff out there to rehab your shins. The real issue is cause???? You have to
> > figure out what you did to aggravate your shins - news shoes, change in terrain, too much of
> > something. Without a discovering the cause the best you can the more likely it will happen
> > again.
>
> This is what concerns me. I really can't come up with much. I did take a long (20 day) break in
> March and then really decided to get back at it. However, I never ran more than 12 miles in a
> single week since that point. I ran one five miler, one four, and the rest were all 3.4s on a
> course that I ran all winter. It's paved but the others were on dirt. The shoes did not change,
> and they presently have about 235 miles on them. My final run on Tue was on somewhat more
> challenging terrain. It was a singletrack with lots of obstacles (fallen trees). I only made it
> two miles into that one before quitting.
>
> I'm afraid I really don't have any good ideas. I can only think that I may have something a little
> more serious, or maybe I just really, really need to get my shins in shape before I run at all.

[Kerry Neilson]

Something occurred to me that has been different about my routine. I started a new job in mid Feb on
the third floor of a lab building. It is 60 steps from the ground. I only allow myself to use the
bathroom on the first floor, and as I drink a ton of water, I climb up and down these steps probably
eight to 10 times a day. I often run them. This occurred to me yesterday as I noticed my hips were
sore from some reason. Also, my shins have been sore going up the steps in the past. Could this be a
factor? I can't imaging so, but who knows. Finally, one unfortunate side effect of the job so far is
that my sleep has been reduced to about six hours a night, down from eight.

[Bill-Always Har]

> I started a new job in mid Feb on the third floor of a lab building. It is 60 steps from the
> ground. I only allow myself to use the bathroom on the first floor, and as I drink a ton of water,
> I climb up and down these steps probably eight to 10 times a day. I often run them.

Gee, you must smell nice by midday...

Bill R.

=============> - -- - (_!_)
OO

[Doug Freese]

Kerry Neilson wrote:
> Something occurred to me that has been different about my routine. I started a new job in mid Feb
> on the third floor of a lab building. It is 60 steps from the ground. I only allow myself to use
> the bathroom on the first floor, and as I drink a ton of water, I climb up and down these steps
> probably eight to 10 times a day. I often run them. This occurred to me yesterday as I noticed my
> hips were sore from some reason. Also, my shins have been sore going up the steps in the past.

If they have been sore, then it's likely that the stairs are at least aggravating the problem if not
the cause. At least avoid the the stairs for a week or so and see if calms down. Once the discomfort
goes away add the stairs back in but two days a week, then three...

> Finally, one unfortunate side effect of the job so far is that my sleep has been reduced to about
> six hours a night, down from eight.

Might affect your mood but I doubt your shins. :)

--
Caveat Lector "the further you go outside, the further you go inside" - B. McKibben Doug Freese
dfreese@hvc.rr.com