CASE STUDY 3 - MARATHON RUNNER, SHIN SPLINTS

26 year old female, runs 2-3 marathons a year, can't train due to shin splints.

Client has been running multiple marathons for several years. This year has had to abandon training schedule as about an hour into a run gets severe shin splints in right leg and can't continue. No recent injuries or new training methods, but was doing longer hours at work on a big project.

Shin splints are caused by an imbalance in the foot when it hits the ground (pronation or supination). This is usually due to a problem with either ankle, knee, hip or pelvis. These were the first areas I worked, but with little or no effect. Next step was again a skeletal check with an osteopath, and an assessment from a podiatrist to check her feet. both were clear.

I had now ruled out all the obvious causes, and wanted to know what was actually happening during the run. I asked her to do her next run on a treadmill in front of a mirror and see if anything unusual happened.

It turned out that as she approached the hour mark her shoulders started to tighten, raising her right shoulder, which threw her pelvis out of balance, and resulted in the shin splints. Once this problem had been identified it was fairly simple to release her shoulders, and as long as she makes a conscious effort to relax her shoulders while running the problem doesn't reoccur.

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