Ken Schannen <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...
Quoted message said:My problem is "shin splints". It seems that no matter what I do, I'm always suffering from pain on
the inside of my shins. I'm posting a link below to a zip file with two short MPG's of me on a
treatmill, one from the side, and one from the rear. If anyone is so inclined, could you look at
these and see if you see anything in my stride or footplant that would obviously be the culprit?
The videos indicate that you have a foot strike slightly biased toward the heel, consistent with
decent distance running form. The rear view indicates that you are slightly bow-legged, and
therefore have a supinating strike. I suspect that this angle is what may be putting a stress on the
inside shin, but there is no way to change that.
Quoted message said:The mpg's are about 10 seconds each and it helps if you have a player that will play a loop,
as well as adjust the speed so you can slow it down. I'm running approx 8:30 per mile pace in
the video.
It would be better if you include the upper body as well in the footage, because the position of the
arms and posture of the torso are important!
I suggest that you try reducing the heel strike to a minimum. Not to the point of running on your
toes, but to the point where you are landing flat. How can you do that? By moving the center of
gravity of your body backward, so that a forward tilt at the ankle is achieved. How you move the
center of gravity backward is by moving your and shoulders back, and by arching your torso. Try it
while standing still: slowly pull your shoulders back and arch your chest. Notice how your legs tilt
forward. Try doing this while running to change your footstrike. That's the idea: a more forward
footstrike is achieved by bending backward, not forward.
A flatter landing means that the forefoot does not ``slap'' down. It is that sudden downward slap of
the forefoot just after the heel strike that is usually the culprit behind running shin pains,
because that slap causes a forceful eccentric contraction of the muscle, as well as stress on the
tendons. No slap, no stress. But on the other hand if you go completely to a forefoot strike, you
are now putting stress on the calves and achilles' tendon. Bad idea for distance running, but
sprinting is run that way.
A second thing to try is to adapt the shins to the stress of the sudden eccentric contraction.
Stretch the muscle regularly; stretching allows a muscle to be extended longer before the
contracting reflex kicks in. Subjecting the muscle to these contractions also causes them to adapt.
Doing some downhill running can help here: when you run downhill, the downward slope of the running
surface causes the footslap to be pronounced, causing an extra elongation of the shin muscle. If you
adapt your shins to that, they will find flat running to be a proverbial piece of cake. You will
have to get outside to do downhill running, since it's unlikely that your treadmill can manage a
decline, or be run in reverse. 😉 Don't overdo the downhill running, and do it in a controlled way.
Warm up and stretch the shins well.
Some people believe that shin strenghtening exercises like raising a bucket of water with the toe
are useful. If so, it's probably the eccentric part of the repetition that is the most useful
component: the part where your toe is raised and you now lower the bucket (or whatever weight) is
hanging on it, thereby elongating the muscle that is working against the resistance.
