Thru-hiking with shin splints

[Imayroam]

Hi, I'm planning to thru-hike the majority (probably something around 1,600 miles) of the A.T. next spring. Only problem is for the past 18 months or so, I've been having a lot of trouble with shin splints. Hopefully by next spring they will be completely gone as long as I don't aggravate them conditioning myself for the trail. My question is do you think the thru-hike may agitate my shin splints and cause them to resurface while on the trail?

[Bilko]

I-man. I know you can get rid of your shin splints by next spring. I would think you could get rid of them by next month. You may have increased your workout load to fast over the past 18 months. Try stretching before and after you workout. One good stretch is to walk on grass for about 100 yards on your heels with your toes off the ground. Do this stretch after you workout. This stretches the thin layer of muscles located in the front of your shins. This is what has been hurting you. Shin splints are over tighting of a thin layer of muscle that is hard to stretch. There are other stretches that you can find in any good book store. Get in the habit of stretching before and after you workout. There is an excellent stretching book that has been out for about 20 years, I think the author name is Anderson. Good Luck.

[Footslogger]

I developed a pretty serious set of shin splints on my thru in 2003. Turned out I was aggrivating the situation, especialy on downhills, by planting my heel and then following through with my stride. I began putting my toes down first and taking smaller steps and was able to walk "through" my shin splints.

No certainty this would work for anyone else ...but it kept me on the trail.

'Slogger

[Blissful]

"Wall" stretches are also good to stretch out the calf muscles. You can do it by leaning on your poles or a tree. When I feel it coming on, I stop and stretch. Sometimes I use the incline of a hill also. Icing helps too, if you're at a place where you can ice the muscle down and keep down the inflammation.

[Frosty]

Shin and calf muscles are opposing muscles, similar to quads-hamstrings.

The problem is that the calf muscle is usually much stronger, and with hikers, especially stronger. The calf muscle forces to shin muscle to stretch more than it wants to, especially with long strides or going down hill. Taking long strides downhill REALLY does a job on shin muscles.

The best way to avoid shin splints is to strengthen the shin muscles. This isn't easy and the shin muscles is used to raise the toes.

Two good exercises:

Sit on a table with feet dangling. Hang a gallon paint bucket on the toes of each foot. Raise the bucket by lifting toes, sort of like curling.

Lie in bed on back with toes pointed in about 45 degrees (pigeon-toed). Place the toes of the left foot over the toes of the right foot. Apply pressure to hold one foot against the other and rotate ankles up and down, doing toe curls. Then put the right foot over the left foot and repeat.

High reps are good, but this is a boring exercise.

I try to do arthritis range of motion exercises and this shin splint exercise most mornings (also temporarily doing calf stretching for different problem).

To break up the monotony, I do five raises left over right, then five right over left.

Then I do ten, then 15, then 20

Then 20, 15, 10, 5

That gives me 100 for each shin.

I sometimes get out of the habit, but having arthritis and being very susceptible to shin splints keeps me on course.

[Imayroam]

Hey, thanks for the tips. I guess my best bet is to condition the shins as much as possible and to be careful when hiking downhill on the trail.

[jmaclennan]

good advice here. not sure stretching before excercise is a great idea. i would warm up first then stretch (muscles are like taffy). slogger's idea is a great one. he told me about it in '03 and it worked very well for me.

[Creaky]

These exercises are fine, BUT: ease gradually up from very little weight, and ease gradually up from few reps to more reps. To many, too heavy, too soon will just make things worse

Stretch AFTER you're warm, NEVER to get warm, NEVER before you're warm.

See a good sports podiatrist, because orthotics might help you a lot. They seem expensive until you prorate them by distance or time. They saved my running life, which was almost ruined by "shin splints," which is an imprecise general term applied to several different shin problems. Mine turned out to be anterior compartment syndrome.

Use Google, and look especially at running sites for the best advice short of a good athletic trainer. What works for a runner will work for a walker (I'm both).

[Spock]

Shin splints are caused primarily by boots or shoes in which the heel strike is behind the axis of the ankle. Also by over use... but then, only aggrivating a condition that is inherent in your footwear. Oh, boy. I wish I hadn't started this. It works like this: when the heel strike is behind the ankle axis it forces the muscles and connective tissue in front of your calf to work harder. When they get chronically irritated we call that shin splints. It is hard to tell if your shoes will cause splints. Shoes with undercut heels such as loggers' boots are meant to prevent it. Running shoes with progressively collapsing foam heels may look as if the heel strike is behind the ankle axis, but the soft heel really moves the impact forward until the material of the heel deteriorates and it stopps working. IOW, old running shoes can give you shin splints. Try different shoes. If your shins are already sore, you will be able to tell very quickly in the store whether a particular pair is making the problem worse or not.

[capehiker]

I get shin splints when I run but have never had a problem when walking or hiking. Wierd, I know.

[Lilred]

I get shin splints when I walk on pavement or blacktop. Our town has a blacktopped greenway and when I walk it, I get shin splints. However, when I'm hiking, I have no problem at all. different muscles are used when hiking due to the climbing and the give of the dirt. That's what I was told anyhow.