Tightness of hte lower leg

[Bill]

Sandy or anybody that has any suggestions:

I seem to be having trouble with tightness in my lower leg particularily the calf and shin muscles.  It seems to occur after running for about 15 minutes, and especially on the tread mill.  I don't know whether to run through the tightness or to stop running.  Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I can do to stop this or atleast aleviate it.

Thanks
Bill

[The Moose]

Ahh, sounds like shin splints.  Stop by tommorrow during work and I'll show you a few stretches that have helped me.
If that's what we're talking about, it's usually caused by the old "too much too soon" quandry (right Sandy?).  I've found that vigorous massage just before a run will warm my muscles enough to run through this fairly simply, but that's about where my experience ends.  I'm too stubborn/stupid to let these things heal properly and end up making such a simple thing take way too long to heal.

Mike

[Sandy]

Shin splints is a "catch all" term describing many conditions of the lower leg.  First you need to pin point the pain.  If it is in the front and to the outside (lateral) of the shin then it could be a too much, too soon as Mike said or it could be from fatigue from pulling against tight calf muscles.  If it's in the front but to the inside (medial) it's a biomechanical issue.  Other questions:  how is your hamstring tightness (can cause calfs to overwork and become tight), are you experiencing achilles pain (new shoes), can you remember when you first started getting this tightness (possibly not enough recovery after the Toad)?  Do the stretches Mike shows you making sure you target hamstrings, calves and shins.  A massage would help a lot as well.  When you're in the store next we can look at your gait again if none of these suggestions bring relief.

Good luck.

[Bill]

Sandy

It happened after the Toad.  I did a combination of things from light running to tread mill to trail.  THe last one I introduced new shoes, but I have not worn them since.  The tightness starts in the calf as I run but then ends up going along the outside part of the shin bone.  I wiuld call them shin splints because that is where they hurt for sometime after, but I don't think that, that is all of the problem.  I notice after waking in the morning as I sleep with my legs bent that I am really tight behind the knee.  my hamstrings seem to be ok, I have been doing lots of downward dog stretches and the other stretches out of the Runners world magazine "Yoga Stretches", as well as the ones that you showed me in the store, and the ones that Brian showed me for my IT band.  I am not sure what to do.  I don't like running with aches and pains.

What is achilles heel?

[Sandy]

Well I would suggest that you did not recover enough right after the Toad.  Like Mike said, too much, too soon.  It sounds like it starts with your calf muscles, probably your soleus.  I will locate a stretch and post it here, you can let me know if you are doing it.  I don't believe it is an achilles problem but for information sake the achilles attaches the two calf muscles to the heel bone.