Coffee and shin talk

Wednesday, August 07, 2013 · Mike Davis

Good morning, thanks for having coffee with me! After I enjoy this cup of Joe, I will be in the basement for my Wednesday morning workout. Been a tough week energy wise and it is taking all the discipline I have to get up and workout. I am currently in the latter stages of 12 day stretch at the base and man has it worn me down! I can’t say I have done a great job during this particular stretch, but today is a new day to get it right. Next week be sure to check out NFLR for a feature which will be a daily post of my days coaching sessions and personal workouts. Now this may seem like nothing special and it isn’t but I thought it might be interesting for others to see how I balance the coaching and my own workouts while attempting to function. Next week will be a great example of a crazy week so it should be fun to follow along. Last night we (wife and I) got an email from a runner in our current training group that is experiencing shin pain. This seems to be the most common injury with many of the last few groups that I have worked with. This is also one of the most difficult injuries to figure out because it could be the result of many things, sometimes requiring minor treatment (rest, ice and compression) and other times it requires gait adjustments or possibly chiropractic adjustments. Beginners may experience them initially as their bodies are reacting to a stress that’s new to their bones, especially if they are carrying an extra few pounds. Other times shin pain can be the result of how the foot lands over and over causing strain on the tibia and fibula. In this instance there could be a gait abnormality that the redundancy (overuse) exposes. This issue may require a lot more attention and time to correct. Starting with a gait analysis that will detect a flaw is the best way to start out. If a flaw is found then determining how to correct the flaw is the challenge. Sometimes that may be as simple as working on certain aspects of your gait or other times it may require strengthening or increasing range of motion. Another possibility that may be causing the shin pain is your skeletal structure and in this case a visit to the chiropractor may help. Finally if all else fails it’s time to go to the doctor and let them have a look at it. Stress fractures are not out of the possibility so trying to run through shin pain is not wise. This is what I recommend in this order if you are dealing with shin pain: 1. Stop running or cut back. Ice, compression and active stretching. 2. Stop running, ice, compression and active stretching. 3. See your doctor. 4. See a chiropractor I didn’t include gait analysis as treatment but I would highly recommend getting on somewhere in between 2 and 3. Well I am late for my workout so I need to get going. Enjoy your coffee! Mike