Pain Regression!! - Treating and Preventing Shin Splints

If you're just tuning in, I have been dealing with shin splints since I started running - 3 months ago now.  I changed my shoes and that helped a little, but I still had the pain, just not as intense.  I added compression socks at the same time I got new shoes.  I have taken pain medicine (and hate doing so), but will deal with the pain for days before taking medicine - so a regiment of pain pills isn't a good solution for me.  I've even used topical creams, such as Bengay, to help.  Only, I learned that my pain wasn't really in the muscles where the creams are targeting.  But I was still in pain.

Truth be told, I could probably back off on my intensity (also a way of treating/preventing shin splints), but I'm an "all in, or nothing" kinda gal.  So, my "jog" is too fast for my abilities at this time.  And I'm not willing to slow down (for every run) to help my shins.  I have been monitoring my runs since the end of January with a sports watch and I've seen my speed/pace increase, so I've accepted the slight pain I've felt in my shins.  I must add, though, I have monitored my shin pain from the start and have altered my runs when/if the pain gets too intense.  I have "just walked" on my runs days to help treat my legs.  And I've even taken the day off from running.  Both methods drove me crazy because I really wanted to be out there!

Another way to prevent shin splints is to change where you run.  Pavement or concrete, naturally, is tougher on your body than the dirt.  However, changing my road isn't an option because I have a stroller to push as well.  It's not a smaller one either - it's the kind that attaches to the back of a bike.  But he's in style, or, he likes his space in there so changing it is something I'm afraid to do.  Why change something when it's working well?  SO, what next?

I've always heard and read about athletes who would take ice baths.  Although I'm not that "bad-a$$", I figured they can't all be crazy.  So I started icing my shins regularly, by placing ice into ziploc bags.  I tried icing them shortly after running, but I would always get interrupted by something happening around me.  So, I chose to ice them at night when the house has calmed down.

Then I was introduced - or became aware of something I had already seen before - to KT Tape after a friend mentioned it.  If you're not familiar with the product, you can learn about it here: KT Tape).  If you've ever watched the Olympics, you've probably seen it being used.  Think of the ladies Beach Volleyball team.  Those ladies, at least one of them, was sporting tape around her shoulder. :)  Anyway, I applied the first round of tape on over a weekend that was warm enough to wear capris ... so I was showing off my bright pink tape on my shins.  I couldn't handle the tape on my skin longer than 24 hours, so I'm not convinced that my shins had the full benefits of the tape.  Because of that, I decided to try it again 2 nights ago, the night before my next running day.

Below is a picture of me sporting my KT Tape while at the Lake a couple weeks ago.  Fashionable! :)

My run was painful (and tough), like usual, but I think it was more of an all body exhaustion than just targeted to my shins.  So I ended up running just over 2 miles yesterday.  I wanted to run at least a 5K, but I took it easy for my body's sake.  

The way I've gaged how my body is responding to treating and preventing future pain (using the ice and tape methods) is how well I can walk up and down the stairs (but especially down).  Before I started icing or using KT Tape (and since I started running), it would be very painful to walk down the stairs.  So much that I would alter the way I would get down the steps.  As for up the stairs, I like to "jog" up the stairs and that became painful for me.  It wasn't the "feel good" pain you feel after a good workout/run either.  It's the pain that shows up in the bone, not the muscles - painful to LIGHTLY run your fingers across the area type pain.  For the first time in 3 months, I noticed last night (hours after my lighter run) that I'm not altering my method of walking down the stairs and I was able to "jog" up the stairs WITHOUT pain!!  Whether or not these methods are actually doing the trick is irrelevant to me because I feel improvement.

Maybe the combination of all things I've altered are contributing to the pain regression.  Either way, I'm happy that my shins are finally appearing to be on the mends!!