[pct-l] shin splints

[Fred Walters]

That fits with my own experience on the West Highland Way many years ago
(in Scotland).  I was fine the entire trek until the end when walking
downhill on a road surface and I suddenly got shin splints.  Managed to
finish into Fort William but it hurt.  Too long ago to remember how log it
took to recover.

On Sat, Jun 23, 2012 at 8:03 PM, CHUCK CHELIN <steeleye at wildblue.net> wrote:

> Good afternoon, Susan,
>
> Shin splints are the collective damage to the muscle structure along the
> front of the lower leg.  That muscle structure is what pivots the foot
> upward, and similarly prevents the foot from lowering too rapidly by
> resisting torque applied at the heel.  Normally the effort to pivot the
> foot upward isn’t great so those muscles do not become highly developed,
> but resisting the forward heel torque is a much different matter.
>
> When hiking downhill the shoe’s heel strikes first, so to avoid having the
> forefoot flap downward out-of-control against the trail, the foot-pivoting
> muscles resist by applying considerable force to absorb kinetic energy.
>  This
> energy-absorbing effort creates considerable unaccustomed stress along the
> front of the shin.  The steeper the hill and the more quickly one descends,
> the greater the stress and the resulting damage.
>
> I’ve experienced shin splints several times – each when I was otherwise in
> excellent hiking condition. As my training condition improves I know I can
> charge up the hills, so I become impatient when walking at a moderate pace
> downhill.  After all, if I can easily charge up the hill, why shouldn’t I
> also charge down the same hill?  The effect of speed downhill is a longer
> stride that creates high-energy heal-strikes.
>
> I developed mild shin splints in the week or two prior to departing for a
> start at Campo.  I realized I had become careless with my training at just
> the wrong time, and I did everything I could to avoid having that stupidity
> cut short my hike before it really even began.  I remember walking down the
> grade into Hauser Creek Canyon by going slowly, “flat-footing”, and
> increasing my reliance on the poles to reduce the strain.  After that I was
> relatively slow and careful on every down grade, and I took NSAIDs to
> reduce the inflammation.
>
> If the incidence of shin splints is greater on the AT I suspect it’s
> because there are more – and steeper – grades on that trail compared to the
> PCT.
>
> Steel-Eye
>
> -Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965
>
> http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye
>
> http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09/
>
>
> On Sat, Jun 23, 2012 at 10:36 AM, Susan Alcorn <backpack45 at yahoo.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Thanks for those who weighed in on shin splints. I emailed my original
> > question
> > from a village in France where we were hiking and I was trying to figure
> > out a
> > leg problem and communicate the details to a doctor who spoke minimal
> > English
> > (with my minimal French). I have heard about shin splints more often from
> > AT
> > hikers, but I figured that some PCT hikers might have some knowledge too.
> > Now that I am back home, I'll get my local doctor's opinion, but I think
> > the
> > taping suggestions make some sense. Definitely worth a try.
> > Happy trails,
> > Susan Alcorn
> >
> >
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