Advice needed

[Crossiewalker]

I'm new to the forums, nice to meet everybody. I'm looking for some advice on my shin splint issue. I'm heading to PLC 204 combined next week, and I'm definitely in some pain. I have posterior shin splints, which in my case leads to some pretty bad inflammation on the inside part of my shin where the tibia meets the muscle. I've been going through about a month of physical therapy, only to find the pain once again returning after a couple of laps around the track earlier this week. I plan on trying to suck it up and basically live off of motrin while i'm there, but I realize that most candidates who do this only end up being NPQ'd for stress fractures. I'm trying to compile some knowledge from those who have been and those who have completed OCS. Is there anybody who experienced similar pain? If so, what did you do to alleviate the pain? Any information is helpful. I'm disappointed that my pain has taken me to this point, but I don't want to mess up my legs so bad that I can't attempt an OCS application again. I've bought the shoes, and altered the running style, but basically I started my training way too quickly, and ran too much on concrete. I just haven't had enough time to heal with OCS coming so quickly. So sorry for the long post, but I'm extremely desperate, worried that all my hard work is crashing down upon me. Any information and help is definitely needed. Thanks everybody.

 

[Steve Wilkins]

I can't imagine anything good can come out of you going to OCS right now in that condition.

 

[red_ryder]

Has anybody said it yet that you need to adjust your running posture?
I had shin splints when I first started training for OCS, but they went right away with a little rest and switching up my gait; you should definitely try that at some point.

Edit: you did say that you altered your running style. If you're running out of time, you need to rest and ice.

 

[C420sailor]

People have to realize that posterior and anterior shin splints are drastically different, and have completely different causes. Anterior shin splints are more common and easier to correct and deal with.

I've been dealing with posterior shin splints/MTSS/posterior tibialis/whatever they call it for the last 10 years. It comes and goes, but here is what I've learned about it...

The majority of the tissue in that region is directly responsible for supporting your arch. The tendons pass down the posterior side of your tibia, around the tip of the tibia (your "ankle bone") and proceed to your arch. A collapsing, poorly supported arch can put a lot of strain through this entire area. Without weight on my foot I have a normal arch, but it collapses significantly to a very flat arch when I put weight on it. It also rolls in excessively, which is known as overpronation.

I wear a running shoe with good support and motion control properties (Asics Gel Foundation 8) and I have custom molded orthotics. These orthotics aren't designed to be comfortable, they're designed to provide optimal arch support.

I notice that my shin pain will return when I ramp up my training volume or intensity too fast, when I run on hard surfaces often, when my shoes are worn out, when I don't stretch or warm up properly, etc.

How do I deal with it? Good shoes and orthotics. Don't increase your volume or speed too quickly. If you feel pain coming on, take an extra day or two off. Stretch well! Ice after EVERY run, whether it hurts or not (I use plastic wrap to secure a cold pack to each shin after every workout), and avoid hard surfaces. Packed dirt/grass, all weather track, etc are great choices.

At this point I'd go heavy on the RICE. Ice bath, dixie cup ice massage, ibuprofen, gentle stretching, no running. Cross train for a while, then ease back into running.

Edit: Unless you're an experienced runner, I wouldn't alter your gait too much on your own. I would have a professional check your gait and offer suggestions. The last thing you need is some NTAC telling you to run in a manner that will aggravate your condition. Running on your toes with no arch support seems to be all the rage lately, but it most certainly isn't for everyone.

 

[Treetop Flyer]

Rest as much as you can before you get there. That's not a good way to show up at OCS. Good luck

 

[Crossiewalker]

Thanks for the help so far. Yeah, I have posterior shin pain. I've been implementing a deep tissue massage into my warmup routine, and it seems to help.

It's not something that I believe can cause a worse issue, such as a stress fracture.
It's just an aggravating pain that can quickly go bad if I'm not careful. All I can do at this point is rest, while trying to increase my endurance with some cycling and other crossfit activities. I'm already behind the curb because I haven't been running over a 1 mile distance in a while. But I can still pull out a 6.40 mile, probably a sub 20.00 three mile if I run my tail off. Hopefully my pain subsides, and doesn't worsen. I can't imagine my legs holding up too well to the hills and other junk they have waiting for me there at OCS. I'm glad you can relate sailor, because MTSS really sucks.

 

[Steve Wilkins]

You are setting yourself up for some not so good things if you go to OCS in that condition.

 

[usmarinemike]

Go work your ass off to pursuade your OSO to work his ass off to get you a way to ship second increment. You're going to go through a serious medical screening before "training" begins, and if you tell them you have the pain, they might just send you home right then and there. If you make it through, and they let you train, they'll do all they can for you. They have a pretty robust sports medicine staff, and can modify your PT profile a little bit. However, they're not going to let you roll through the whole increment lame. The main factor is going to be whether you can perform on the graded events. If not, bubye.