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Help, I'm old and frail.
ElJeffe
Registered User, ClubPA regular
Registered User, ClubPA regular
I recently picked up racquetball again. I played when I was in college a large number of years ago, and stopped because I basically destroyed my knees. I guess that's what happens when you play for an hour or two seven days a week. Anyway.
I started playing again, three times a week for an hour or so. It's great fun and good cardio and burns calories like a motherfucker, so yay all around. However, since I started playing again (about 6 weeks ago) my lower legs are in almost constant pain. Not the joints, but the shins. My knees, actually, haven't begun hurting again.
At first I figured it was my old and out-of-shape body revolting against the idea of exercise, and that it would get better in time, but it hasn't. They hurt pretty bad for the rest of the day after I play, and for most of the following day. They generally feel better the day after that, right up until lunch time when I play again.
To what extent should I be concerned? Will my body adjust and strengthen my legs to the point where they no longer hurt all the time? Am I systematically destroying my shins? I mean, I'm only 33, and you see old fuckers playing this game, so it's not like I'm trying to do gymnastics or something designed for young'uns. Is there some sort of leg brace thing I should wear when I play to provide support? I know they make knee braces, and I have some, but I don't see how that would help my lower legs.
I started playing again, three times a week for an hour or so. It's great fun and good cardio and burns calories like a motherfucker, so yay all around. However, since I started playing again (about 6 weeks ago) my lower legs are in almost constant pain. Not the joints, but the shins. My knees, actually, haven't begun hurting again.
At first I figured it was my old and out-of-shape body revolting against the idea of exercise, and that it would get better in time, but it hasn't. They hurt pretty bad for the rest of the day after I play, and for most of the following day. They generally feel better the day after that, right up until lunch time when I play again.
To what extent should I be concerned? Will my body adjust and strengthen my legs to the point where they no longer hurt all the time? Am I systematically destroying my shins? I mean, I'm only 33, and you see old fuckers playing this game, so it's not like I'm trying to do gymnastics or something designed for young'uns. Is there some sort of leg brace thing I should wear when I play to provide support? I know they make knee braces, and I have some, but I don't see how that would help my lower legs.
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ElJeffe on
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The way I started losing the shin splints was by resting up, and uppping my calcium and fiber intake.
What kind of shoes are you wearing when you play? Proper running shoes can go a long way toward preventing shin splints.
Basically, you're not destroying your legs, you just have weak/underused shin muscles and they're struggling to adjust. The best way to train those muscles is to powerwalk on your heels, and to do controlled downhill running.
But even then they might not adjust very quickly or completely, and it's likely that they'll still hurt for a while. The best treatment for that is rest, ice, and taking it easy from the strenuous running for a while. But I don't don't think you have to worry about your muscles decomposing here or anything.
I do, but I don't do any stretches that work on the shins. What sort of stretch stretches that area? I mostly stretch my thighs and upper legs and the backs of my legs, because those are the ones I remember.
And I'm only 21 in hex. 21 isn't old, right?
@Munacra - I picked up some cheap (~$30) running shoes with decent ankle support. As to calcium, would it be sufficient to increase intake of foods high in calcium, or should I start taking supplements?
As to the supplement vs food thing, I took supplements. But you should ask someone who knows more about nutrition.
Point taken, though.
This saved me so much pain in track.
I'd be a bit wary of automatically assuming it's shin splints. For racquetball, you should be moving from side to side most of the time, and keeping on the balls of the feet, yes? That should be working the calves, not the shins. Shin issues tend to come from running which involves heelstrike, ie any running that isn't a -400m sprint. Try to see if you're falling particularly heavily on any part of the foot when playing, and try to stay light on your toes. Also, it may well be a pronation problem. If you go to a good running shop, they should have a look at your gait if you try on shoes, see if you are over/under pronating, and recommend what is best for you. I can't speak for the US really, but over here a £30 pair of shoes (let alone $30) would be a total POS. Do you have a weblink for them?
Either way, the first thing you should do is rest, or at least play less often (ie more recovery time) so your body can adjust. Second thing, if you want shin stretches, is:
Static stretch (post exercise):
Stand facing a wall.
Put toes of foot up to skirting board, resting on heel
Push knee into wall to feel stretch, keeping hips & body upright and in line.
Dynamic stretch (pre exercise):
Stand on the edge of a pavement or similar with toes right on the edge, lower heels over edge and raise on toes again, rinse and repeat.
...and...
Stand straight, feet flat, arms on a handrail of some sort, resting on heels, flex toes up into air, hold, let down, rinse & repeat.
Not so much, no. There's a whole lot of sprinting from back to front, and I think heelstriking sounds more accurate than ball-of-footing. When I run, I can feel the pain in the exact same place, so based on what you and others describe, it sounds fairly shin-splinty. I'll take some of the recommendations in here based on the diagnosis and see if things improve. If not, I'll take another route or see a doctor or something.
However, what most people call shin splints today is the very early manifestation of that, which is simply the muscle and tendons under strain. Ergo, you take supplements for muscle/ligament repair.
Also, I'm fairly sure that as long as you are taking your recommended amount of calcium, most studies have shown that excess amounts in healthy adults are simply excreted - it's only in kids and elderly adults (osteporosis etc) that there have been demonstrated benefits to taking calcium supplements.
And I wouldn't trust that wiki too much if I were you, either because it used to say...
...or because I just changed it, whichever makes you more nervous.
What is quoted above there is totally untrue and liable to be very harmful to people who take it as advice. Long & mid distance runners strike with the heel and roll through the foot, because it is utterly counter to the natural motion of the body to do otherwise unless leaning far forward & sprinting for short distances. If you think about running on forefoot strike, you either: strike with the ball of your foot and immediately push off, using almost entirely the calves and quads for power, or: strike with the ball of your foot, move backwards down onto the heel, then push back up again onto the forefoot and push off. It's highly inefficient and creates a point where you have to reverse thrust from the heel going down to back up again. It's awful running style, and it's not good for you. Only elite long-distance runners who can run their marathon miles in 5 minute miles (ie a damn sight faster than the rest of us can sprint them) could get away with that, and it would still be less efficient for them than the natural motion, which is why they don't do it - just watch the next marathon on TV. But for the rest of the world who trundle along at a slower pace, it's an even more shockingly bad idea.
To illustrate the point, check out this picture:
Look at the front row - all of them about to touch the ground have their toes lifted up & going for a heelstrike.
PS
It's hard to say without seeing you, but actually I'd recommend that you try not to hit with your heel too much. If you are doing a lot of sprinting to & fro, you're going to be hitting the ground pretty hard, halting your bodyweight quickly, and throwing it in the other direction. Without a natural forward running gait, striking with the heel is a bad idea in those circumstances. Try staying light on the balls of the feet, and think about really planting your whole foot when you turn or change direction, keeping body low to the ground, and when you push off, do so through the center of the foot so you're applying pressure right through the leg.
Easy to say, hard to do. It's likely that the basic problem is that you're doing an activity which puts a lot of variable strain on all the leg muscles by sprinting & changing direction hard and fast, and the weaker ones are simply telling you to slow down a bit.
Jeffe, maybe you should consider talking to a doctor or trainer? I know that some wellness centers have trainers and doctors available to consult about this type of thing for cheap (or even for free) if you have a membership.
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My understanding of shin-splits is in line with what Not Sarastro has said. The cause for this is generally a muscular imbalance between the front muscles of your lower leg and the back muscles. When the imbalance is too great, the synergy between front and back sets weakens which can lead to injury.
So I would suggest working the tibalis anterior 3 times a week to see if that helps.
Stand with your back against the wall, feet relatively close together 8-12 inches from the wall, toes forward. Apply a slight bend to your knees and perform plantar flexion. Flex your toes to the sky as far as you can, pause and feel the contraction, then slowly return to the starting position. Do 3 sets of 20 with 30-60 seconds in between sets.
The tibialis muscles normally adapt on their own to increasing levels of stress much like the forearm muscles, but sometimes they need a little help to catch up. This should strengthen those connective tissues as well so that when those muscles pull on the tibia, they'll be less likely to cause the breakage associated with shin splints.
At that price you'll buy a new pair of shoes 1/3 as often and your feet will be less likely to conspire to murder you in your sleep.
That depends. Recommendation from physios is to change trainers every 6 months, and even with the fairly low amount of running I do on average (between 20-30 miles a week) I find I actually need to do this, as I'll really start noticing muscle stress or minor injuries past 7 months, as well as the things noticably wearing & coming apart.
That's for running, don't know how it would apply to racquetball.
Different shoes wear at different rates, better built ones wear notably slower than shitty ones.
I spend around $40 for my shoes, regardless of pair. I have running shoes, sneakers, and bootish types. I'd say they all wear at varying rates, most lasting at least 6 months if not a year. The boots obviously last longer than the sneakers, the running shoes longer than the sneakers etc primarily because of use and the material they are made of.
Anyway, point was that just because you get shoes that cost twice as much, don't think it's a good idea to wear them for twice as long.
No, you wear them until they don't work right anymore. Athletic shoes have spring to them, and when all the spring is gone the shoes are of dubious value. And I'm not saying you should pay $100 for $100 shoes either, that's what clearance racks are for.
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I've read from numerous doctors that as long as shoes fit properly, there is little chance of doing any damage even if they are greatly worn (although they may not be comfortable). They cited a man that has used the same shoes for years, running on a treadmill, to the point of wearing a hole in them. He never suffered injury, but the doctors expressed he was opening himself up to hazards as the hole grew bigger.
Also, for racquetball, you should NOT be wearing running shoes. Running shoes are made for forward movement. Racquet sports demand lateral pushes as well, so look into shoes that offer support for that. Tennis shoes (not in the generic term, shoes BUILT for tennis) offer this sort of support, for example.
In regards to shin splints:
This running website, Cool Running, has descriptions and remedies for lower leg pain. In particular, two forms of shin splints. Some of the remedies have been mentioned in this thread, but there are other useful hints for beating shin splints.
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