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I received this question from one of my newsletter subscribers regarding shin pain when running and lower back pain…

Q: Hi Kevin,

I seem to have a few areas of pain that often make it uncomfortable for me to work out the way I would like to..first I have lower back pain that prevents me from doing the Elliptical Trainer or Stair climber and dead lifts the way I would like to also I have shin pain when I try to run on the treadmill which is something I would really like to be able to do.

I’m not sure about the shin pain because I’ve never hurt them to my  knowledge but the lower back I’ve had injury to that area before.. If you can help me accomplish doing any of these things I have mentioned that would be so awesome as I believe my efforts to lose weight would be productive.

Thank you,
Donna

A: Hi Donna,

Shin pain when running is often difficult to understand. Many times it’s easy to automatically assume that shin splints are responsible, however there are a couple of issues that might be the cause.

The first can be that a weakness exists in your core muscles. When I say your “core” I’m talking about more than just your stomach muscles. Your hips are part of the core and when there’s weakness in those areas you lose strength when you push off the ground during running because your hips are meant to perform most of the effort.

So, instead of pushing off the ground with a solid leg drive it’s more like your legs have to move faster as if trying to catch up with your body.  One way to tell if this is happening is to notice your stride rate (the number of strides per unit of time).  When you lack core strength you perform more strides and those muscles in your shins get involved in an effort to pull your legs under your body.

Since they’re small muscles and not designed to work this way they get overstressed and become fatigued resulting in pain.

But, usually the pain resolves itself within a day or two and there’s no visible signs of trauma to the shin area.

Interestingly, enough this may be linked with your lower back pain. Now, I don’t know the nature of your injury to your lower back, but if it’s a repetitive stress type injury then it most likely is linked to your shin pain.

Here’s why…

There’s weakness of your core muscles and when you perform a deadlift (or any kind of squat) or use the elliptical or stair climber your hips aren’t supplying the push off…just like when you run.

But, instead of feeling your shins (because you’re not running) your lower back compensates and performs most of the work and unfortunately receives most of the stress too.  How can you tell?

Try the squat test…Here’s what to do…

Squat down as close to 90 degrees as you can comfortably perform but don’t go past 90 degrees.  Hold your arms out in front of your body at mid chest height. Hold the squat for 30 seconds and notice where you feel it working the most. You will probably feel it almost all in your thighs and possibly your lower back.

Also, notice the position of your trunk. If you lean excessively forward as you squat then that’s another positive sign of core weakness.

One solution to help aside of properly strengthening your core muscles is to run on the ground vs a treadmill. This is because the treadmill is hard to get a solid push off of since the belt moves underneath you. But, solid ground will help you get better drive.

If you have to use a treadmill then put it at a very slight incline. The incline creates the need for more push off since you’re moving at an upward angle.

I have an article posted on my blog about how to prevent shin splints.

You can read it at: http://functionaltrainingcoach.com/5-ways-to-prevent-shin-splints/

Please keep me posted on your progress.

Kevin

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