Running Injury No. 2: Shin Splints

Running Injury No. 1 was hamstring tendinitis (read about it in my multiply acct), a knee injury which was caused by a sudden spike in physical activity after around 3 years of dormancy, plus the tendons have been weakened by 8 years of taekwondo varsity training previous to that. In short, overuse and misuse.

After that I became careful: warm up and stretch first, cutting short the distance when there's some unusual pain, etc. Last week I felt pain brewing again, this time in the shin (See related entry). Didn't ignore it this time around so I did the RICE method and even bought Zensah leg sleeves from Second Wind, J.Vargas Ave. This morning I went to see our family orthopedic surgeon (haha) and confirmed that it was shin splints indeed, but to rule out stress fractures, I should rest for one week first. What a drag....:(

But on the bright side, I could still cross train but constrained to activities which are not stressful to the shin muscles (bike for example). I guess I can use the elliptical at the gym, or take out the bike (at night?). Anyway, the goal is to keep the endurance up until this subsides. Good luck. Doctor says, in the future, don't run so much hills (guilty) and stretch more before and after a work out (guilty). Happy resting!

Brewing an injury

My left shin has been experiencing minor pain the last four runs. The last run, it wouldn't go away until i've ran 3k at an easy pace (7:30), wherein previously it goes away after 15 mins of the same pace (1.5 to 2k). I'm getting worried because this week and next week i'm supposed to peak on the mileage but had to restrain some 10kms and speed drills because i don't want to run Condura with an injury. (As advised by every running book or site, the right way to treat this is to completely stop running.)

Anyway, the game plan is, next week i'll have to restrain on mileage too but a must-do is a 2.5 hours long run to be confident on race day. What a drag...But that's subject to the results of my doctor's check up. Could it be shin splints or stress fractures? Abangan...

Taping techniques:

KT technique: click here

Point of pain technique: