Shin splints!

[Itsboxman]

I used to play lacrosse in high school. I've been out of high school for about 2 years now, and am not getting neatly enough exercise as I should be. That being said, I'd like to drop some weight. I've been trying to use the treadmill that we have in our house (which also happens to be in the HOTTEST ROOM IN THE HOUSE ) and about half way through my workout, I get really bad shin splints. They can get so bad that I actually have to stop the workout.

Is there anything I can do to prevent/treat this? Or can someone at lest tell me why this happens?

[AmazonQueen]

You can tape your shins but be sure to use pro wrap first so that the tape doesn't hurt like satan's child when you take it off, I'm not a professional so I would use google on how to do this...I had my phys ed teacher tape my shins for me and my coach excused me from running activies, I had them bad.

But really since shin splits are an over use injury I suggest giving yourself adequate time to heal probably 3-6 weeks I would think would be enough and again, use google. For me it took longer because I didn't know when to stop and kept re injuring myself. I really stress some recovery time and try ice massaging your shins, ice helps as well.

[Imagine849]

I used to get this a lot. I was told it was just from over exercising, it sucks but the only thing that ever helped was rest and putting ice on them. If you keep exercising through the pain then it will just keep getting worse and worse and could become a permanant problem. If it persists i would suggest see'ing a phsyio who can maybe give you some exercises that might help. Sorry i can't be anymore help than that, hope you get this sorted

[Sincerely Yours ♥]

I got shin splints in cross-country a lot. To prevent this, take it easy on exercising & try to fully heal your shins before going full-blown treadmill running & stuff. This includes icing your shins afterwards for a while.

[Shawn K.]

My basketball trainer told me, back when I started working with him, to not "flop" or "plop" my feet on the ground when I run. He said, run "heel to toe" where your heel hits first and your foot rotates forward pushing off the big toe. He said I should not hear my feet banging flat footed on the ground cause it will cause shin splints. And he also said run in good running shoes, even at the gym. I run in running shoes and I play basketball in basketball shoes never use one for the other.

[Let's kill tonight.]

The trainers you run in can damage your shins and cause shin splints.. if they're old and well worn, the sole will be thin and absorb little impact as you hit the floor, so it's a good idea to invest in new ones, or ones fitted to the way your foot is shaped. You can go to specialist shops that get you to run on treadmills and see how your foot hits the floor. They can advise you on trainers and insoles.. they can be expensive but if you're serious about getting yourself sorted it may be necessary... if they give you the name of trainers to buy, have a quick search on the internet and you may find them on the internet.
Seeing a podiatrist may also help, I saw one who advised me on stretching out my calf muscles. One was standing on my toes for a minute, slowly sinking down onto your heels, then slowly rising, and standing on my toes again. You can repeat this many times, and do it in queues, whilst waiting around, or whilst at home. There are many more stretches for the gastrocnemius which I'm sure a quick Google search will help you with.
It's a good idea to get this sorted soon, with plenty of rest and recovery time, and plenty of ice application to your muscles after physical activity. If not, you can cause stress fractures to your shin bone, causing even more problems and possibly leading to osteoporosis later on in life.
Taping has already been suggested, and is a good idea, and you should look into this too. However, this is not a solution to your problems, you need to deal with the cause. Physical activity on a hard surface can also cause shin splints.. if your running on concrete, or exercising on a hard wooden floor, you're adding stress to your shins. I guess if you're on a treadmill you can't really change the surface, but just for reference, looking at where you exercise is a good idea. I'd probably aim at looking at the shoes you wear, and if this doesn't help, go to your doctor to get a referral to a podiatrist.

I hope this helps, and I hope it wasn't too confusing! Take care!