Natural born sprinter

It’s been quiet here for the last few days. I have had a lot of things I have needed to do in the evenings, and following last Sunday’s big run, I have had my leg pain back. Nothing serious but the ongoing pain in my legs and the fact that I think my left shin bone is swelling noticeably more than the right shin finally convinced me to go to see my GP.

The last time I went to my doctor I got the distinct impression he thought I was having a bit of a time waste so I have been quite reluctant to go back, this time though I was pleasantly surprised to find him sympathetic to my running troubles (I suspect he is a runner himself).

We had a long talk through the bio-mechanics going on with legs and running and it seems that with my toe running I am a born sprinter, not a long distance runner. This is a shame as I quite enjoy long distance running finding it quite cathartic after a long day at work, and I don’t have the discipline to be a successful sprinter. But anyway, toe running is protecting my joints from the pounding heel runners can inflict on themselves as the foot, ankle, Achilles, etc. acts as a great shock absorber for each foot strike. Where I am saving myself from one set of injuries, it seems I am causing others.

There is a part of the leg on the outside of the shin called the anterior muscle compartment, this is an area where muscle is wedged in between the tibia and a strip of tough gristle. When this muscle is worked hard it can’t expand and becomes painful and this muscle is worked hard by toe runners. This is a likely reason for my shin splints pain as opposed to all of the other things I have considered with self diagnosis on the internet. Pushing through the pain barrier with compartment syndrome can lead to gangrene however, so I can’t just ignore this one.

He isn’t wholly convinced that I have any additional bone growth on my left leg despite having a good prod about on my shin. If there is any change in bone density it might mean that I have caused a stress fracture and if that is the case running isn’t for me, I’m not a big guy and shouldn’t be stressing my bones to that extent. I am off to have a few X-Rays just in case.

As predicted my doctor has put a ban on running until I next see him (after the X-Rays have been done) and as long as nothing is thrown up with these X-Rays he is going to talk me through warming up and down exercises that can help, and he even mentioned the physio word. I am allowed, nay encouraged, to get out on the bike though so Sunday Big Run will now be replaced by Sunday Big Ride until I am given the all clear by the Doc.