Runners - please help me sort my shins out!

[curlydolly]

Hello I started running in the new year and really loving it. Doing couch to 5k and have been building up very slowly. My shins started hurting a bit a while back so I had a gait analysis done at a very good specialist shop and ended up buying another pair of shoes to correct my over pronation. That was a couple of weeks ago and shins are still hurting but not worse. Its nothing major and mostly hurts to touch after running, like a bruise. I can stretch my feet up and down with no pain and have at least one rest day in between each run. I want to know if my shins will gradually sort themselves out as my legs get stronger or am I just going to make it worse? The guy at the shop (who really did seem to know what he was talking about) said there would be some 'residual' pain but I thought it would be better by now. Am I just being impatient? Will stretching more help? sorry for all the questions but hoping someone can speak from experience! thanks

According to this months Zest magazine, try
-New shoes
-Loosen your calf muscles pre-run, keeping your leg straight, press down with your heel for a few seconds, then repeat with your knee slightly bent
-Ice your shins post run
Your could also try runners world forum which is similar to this one but with obviously a lot more runners.
www.runnersworld.co.uk

Sounds like shin splints (is this what the guy in the shop said?) If so there is a stretch you can do where basically you kneel up sitting on your feet. If this hurts then you know shin splints are the problem. Make sure you stretch your calves after every run. In my experience once you have had them they take a long time to completely go and it still comes back from time to time despite wearing good trainers and stretching properly. HTHs a bit!

My personal trainer suggested getting small plastic drinking cups, fill them with water , then freeze. Once frozen, roll up and down the shin, it does work