Help; Shin Splints? Rotator Pursuit Bars?

[Mark Stonich]

I've got a couple of questions I'm hoping someone can help me with.

Anyone know anything about shin splints caused by cycling, and how to avoid reoccurrence?

A very short woman, with a Hase Lepus trike, has asked me if I can do anything to her pedals to help
her avoid a repeat of the shin splints she suffered with last year. She's not worried about
efficiency, just wants to be able to ride around her neighborhood without pain.

She has been riding too far from her BB, causing her to extend her toes when pedalling. Is this a
likely cause? I'll be shortening her boom and installing short cranks, to allow her proper
extension.

She's worried that this won't be enough, and I'm thinking about adding large platforms to a pair of
pedals, with a heel cup to hold her foot forward on the pedals, so the axle is almost under her
arch. Anyone know if this should help.

BTW she already has good orthotics, but isn't interested in "Real" cycling shoes. She's been seeing
a doctor and a PT about this but they aren't bike savvy.
-----------------------------------------------------
Does anybody out there have a Rotator Pursuit, and something to measure the angle of the handlebar
bend? A Bachetta owner hates his handlebars and wants me to clone the Pursuit bar for him.

 

[Bethf]

"Mark Stonich" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I've got a couple of questions I'm hoping someone can help me with.
>
> Anyone know anything about shin splints caused by cycling, and how to avoid reoccurrence?
>
> A very short woman, with a Hase Lepus trike, has asked me if I can do anything to her pedals to
> help her avoid a repeat of the shin splints she suffered with last year. She's not worried about
> efficiency, just wants to be able to ride around her neighborhood without pain.
>
> She has been riding too far from her BB, causing her to extend her toes when pedalling. Is this a
> likely cause? I'll be shortening her boom and installing short cranks, to allow her proper
> extension.

This was going to be my guess. I remembered that i got tendonitis from ankleing and was thinking
that someone could get shin splints from ankleing too.

 

[Steven C. Hodge]

[email protected] (Mark Stonich) wrote in message > Anyone know anything about shin splints
caused by cycling, and how to
> avoid reoccurrence?

> Does anybody out there have a Rotator Pursuit, and something to measure the angle of the handlebar
> bend? A Bachetta owner hates his handlebars and wants me to clone the Pursuit bar for him.

I have the Pursuit your Bacchetta owner wants to clone: The angle is 30Deg. Bar is just
over 18" wide.

Regarding shin splints I note that these are in the anterior/lateral muscle compartment and that
these muscles dorsiflex the foot (opposite of pointing the toes, which is a calf muscle function).
In pedaling these muscles fixate the foot angle and would tend to be in a constant tension mode. If
a rider actively ankles and pedals circles these muscles would be very active to keep the foot from
extending as one pulls the leg back toward the body. To put it another way if you walk around on
your toes your calves do all the work, if you walk on your heels, the shin splint muscles do all the
work of keeping your foot at an upward angle. Neither muscle group is completely relaxed but the
work load shifts. The only time I ever notice my 'shin splint muscles' is when I ankle strongly
going up medium length hills pulling back as hard on the pedals as I push. Moving the foot up on the
pedal so the axle is toward the heel "may" exacerbate her shin splints (?!?). Just a thought
experiment. It would be nice to have a follow up. Steve

 

[John Foltz]

Steven C. Hodges wrote:
> [email protected] (Mark Stonich) wrote in message > Anyone know anything about shin splints
> caused by cycling, and how to
>
>>avoid reoccurrence?
>
> Moving the foot up on the pedal so the axle is toward the heel "may" exacerbate her shin splints
> (?!?). Just a thought experiment. It would be nice to have a follow up. Steve
>
Just the opposite, I would think. Moving the pedal toward the heel would lessen the stresses both on
the calves *and* the shin muscles. Are her 'shin splints' sore muscles, or tender tendons? Muscle
soreness goes away in a day or two, tendons can take weeks or even months to heal. Sore tendons
implies some high-impact events, something that would be hard to accomplish from riding a bicycle.

--

John Foltz --- O _ Baron --- _O _ V-Rex 24/63 --- _\\/\-%)
_________(_)`=()___________________(_)= (_)_____

 

[Bob Wand]

I agree John, Shin splints usually come from muscle imbalance, Tight calves pulling against the shin
muscles. This is most common with runners. A little rest, stretching and ice should take care of it,
IF IT IS SHIN SPLINTS.

Two questions, Have you changed the fit of the bike recently? After the winter layoff, have you
picked up the riding intensity where you left off last fall?

Bob

"John Foltz" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Steven C. Hodges wrote:
> > [email protected] (Mark Stonich) wrote in message > Anyone know
anything about shin splints caused by cycling, and how to
> >
> >>avoid reoccurrence?
> >
> > Moving the foot up on the pedal so the axle is toward the heel "may" exacerbate her shin
> > splints (?!?). Just a thought experiment. It would be nice to have a follow up. Steve
> >
> Just the opposite, I would think. Moving the pedal toward the heel would lessen the stresses both
> on the calves *and* the shin muscles. Are her 'shin splints' sore muscles, or tender tendons?
> Muscle soreness goes away in a day or two, tendons can take weeks or even months to heal. Sore
> tendons implies some high-impact events, something that would be hard to accomplish from riding a
> bicycle.
>
> --
>
> John Foltz --- O _ Baron --- _O _ V-Rex 24/63 --- _\\/\-%)
> _________(_)`=()___________________(_)= (_)_____

 

[Steven C. Hodge]

John Foltz <> Just the opposite, I would think. Moving the pedal toward the heel > would lessen the
stresses both on the calves *and* the shin muscles.
> Are her 'shin splints' sore muscles, or tender tendons? Muscle soreness goes away in a day or two,
> tendons can take weeks or even months to heal. Sore tendons implies some high-impact events,
> something that would be hard to accomplish from riding a bicycle.

Tendon pain would start just above the ankle and flow around the lateral malleolus. Muscle pain
would be about 6" higher and diffuse over the muscle itself. Her pain was associated with a setup
that exacerbated toe extension and Stonich was trying to reduce her extension and proposed a setup
that would leave the foot at a fairly fixed angle because of the heel support and axle move. Normal
cycling motion means the foot pivots back and forth a lot in the course of a revolution. The new
setup would minimize this ankle pivoting and I think increase or have a more persistent tone in the
shin splint muscles and not necessarily decrease the tone of the shin muscles. Running stresses the
shin muscles much much more than cycling. Steve