cycling shin pain
steviemidnight
Posts: 51
Hi all
I've had a history of shin pain and not run in months. However I ride hard a good 3-7 days a week.
The pain and location
When running or laughably when i started skipping every day to shed body fat i get quite a intense pain in a very small area (about 1" circle) on the inside of both shins 2/3 or 3/4 of the way down my shin
When cycling I only get pain after a while riding and when i'm really pushing on the pedals ie hills and sprinting. The pain is in the up outside of the shins and almost like a burning sensation say half the upper outside of the shin. Its odd the legs feel like there going to snap on occasion.
Note I've not run in months to try and let my legs recover. This has been on and off for nearly 2 years now so its not just a passing injury. I've seen a physio had dry needling and all sorts but nothing has really fixed my issues
My cycling as steadily increased. I did a 100 miles yesterday and commute about 3 days a week of about 45 miles aday.
Any suggestions or exercises i can do would be beneficial. i'm leaning towards another physio but they all seem to be running focused
I've had a history of shin pain and not run in months. However I ride hard a good 3-7 days a week.
The pain and location
When running or laughably when i started skipping every day to shed body fat i get quite a intense pain in a very small area (about 1" circle) on the inside of both shins 2/3 or 3/4 of the way down my shin
When cycling I only get pain after a while riding and when i'm really pushing on the pedals ie hills and sprinting. The pain is in the up outside of the shins and almost like a burning sensation say half the upper outside of the shin. Its odd the legs feel like there going to snap on occasion.
Note I've not run in months to try and let my legs recover. This has been on and off for nearly 2 years now so its not just a passing injury. I've seen a physio had dry needling and all sorts but nothing has really fixed my issues
My cycling as steadily increased. I did a 100 miles yesterday and commute about 3 days a week of about 45 miles aday.
Any suggestions or exercises i can do would be beneficial. i'm leaning towards another physio but they all seem to be running focused
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Comments
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http://www.ultrarunningltd.co.uk/traini ... in-splints
Have a look at this with ref to different types of 'shin splint' injuries it might help or not. Good luck hope you can get it sorted.0 -
Thanks some good info there for sure,0
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I was a county standard track and road runner in my younger days and suffered a lot from medial shin splints and spent many a happy hour on the Physio's table I even had cortisone injections into the area behind the bone once the pain had been sufficiently localised (not to be recommended if you don't like needles!!). My problem was as a result of over-pronation (landing on the outside of the foot and rolling over to the inside once the foot had landed) and in the end it was a case of finding the right training shoe and making sure I changed them regularly as soon as the cushioning started to deteriorate which was usually every 3 months or so depending on my training mileage, I wasn't carrying any excess weight back then either. Orthotics in the shoes might help but didn't work for me. A VERY gradual build up is required once you get back into training, and basically if you haven't changed anything (shoes, inserts, running surfaces, weight etc) then it is very likely going to return quite quickly.
I haven't heard of anyone suffering from shin splints on a bike though as its mainly (although not exclusively) caused by foot impact, and in fact my Physio always recommended cycling when I was incapacitated by the shin splints. Although from your description it sounds like the pain is on the outside when cycling but on the inside when running. I suppose stress fractures have been ruled out? Have you had a bike fit? Having a good fitter examining and adjusting your positioning on the bike may help alleviate the problem.
Hope you get it sorted though0 -
I sometimes have something similar to shin splints after cycling - shoes slightly too tight over the tendon that runs from shin to upper part of foot is the cause for me. Most troublesome when I used to do cadence exercises (stupid I know!). Can also get shin spilnt like pain when walking/jogging over very uneven ground - due to picking toes up a bit more to avoid tripping (also stupid but there we are!)
So I guess you MIGHT be irritating a tendon or perhaps you're foot/pedal relationship is not optimal and your toes/front of foot are getting too involved?0 -
I'm in a similar position and have resorted to bike riding to help recover from shin splints I got from running (particularly doing speed work on hard surfaces and a very fast road 3k). I found at first though that I couldn't ride in normal bike shoes so I swapped to cycling in soft running trainers and barely get any problems on the bike. I am still getting a lot of stiffness and trying to stretch the shins. What sort of shoes are you riding in, maybe that might be something to explore as it might be you are still stressing the shins just a little too much to let them heal? I am hoping to give the bike shoes another try shortly.0
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When I ran competitively the only relief I got from shin splints was compression socks and lots of calf massage. Shin splints is generally on the inside of the shin I believe.
If it's towards the outside, isn't that more like compartment syndrome?0 -
You can get it in either the tibula or fibula, supposedly the front and back of the tibia or the outside of the fibula - according to Tim Noakes that is. But diagnosing this sort of thing online is probably not the best solution, OP hasn't mentioned a diagnosis from the physio?0
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Tibialis Anterior is tight, foam roller or trigger point ball release is pretty good. A sports massage is the best option tho
@imassageuk0
