What category of shoes do you run in? (Cushion, Stability, Motion Control)

Do you over pronate? (How do you know this?)

Do you use an orthotic or some other type of supportive footbed, and if so what kind?

in college i came damn close to fracturing my shin in half in just about the same spot (bad coaching). the key thing for me was to come back SLOWLY. the first time i ran i went to the track and ran 1 lap. the next day i ran 2, and each day added a lap up to 2 miles. only then could i do some road runs. try to run on trails/tracks as much as possible b/c they will spare you the pounding. icing was also very important for me--immediately after every run i iced my shin for 15-20min and took ibuprofen. i know how frustrating it is to not be able to run. patience is a must (in my humble opinion). as far as orthotics, your doctor may or may not suggest a trip to the podiatrist, but sometimes that has nothing to do with it. my injury was just the result of too much too soon. cushioning orthotics can't hurt, but time will be the best healer. also, be sure to try some shin-strengthening excercises. the easiest one i know is to put your back up against a wall and put your feet together about 8-12 inches in front of you (maybe a little more depending on your height-it's not that important). then push your toes off the ground (thus sliding your back up the wall). these are easy and can be done just about anywhere. hope this helps.

I am have been running in NB 714's and 715's. I had just started out in the 715's that I got for Christmas which were the replacement for the discountinued 714's. My pedorthist says that I am a supinator? I think that is an overpronator. Basically as she described it, I walk towards the outside of my feet. On my left foot in addition to that, I also tend to twist my foot to the outside as I strike my heal, which she said caused the tibial tendonitus. She has made orthotics which have nearly cleared up the achilles tendonitus that I have had for two years, and it makes the tibial tendonitus bearable. The orthotics are custom made. She also increased my shoe size and width. She said my shoes were too small. Funny that I never noticed that before but since I have been wearing larger shoes, my feet do feel more comfortable. She also recommended that on long runs that I switch to NB 991's for more motion control.

I had the same thing last spring. My Doc had me off (no running) for 3 months. It pretty well screwed me last season. But I'm running well this year (running well for me that is). I think you would be best to take it slow. Its better to take a couple of extra weeks than get in a hurry and lose 3 more months.

I agree that the fracture was probably caused by too much at one time. I ran a 13 mile run the weekend before the 10 mile run. The 10 miler was probably too soon after the 13 not giving the bone enough time to catch up. I had done two 6 mile runs in between which probably did not help either but those were my normal training run distances. In this first week I have worked up to two miles, going very slowly at 9:30 to 10:00 min/mile, which is not easy since I usually run at 7:30 to 8:00 min/mile. I am hoping to work up to 3 miles in the next two weeks. I had already entered a sprint race in Pennsacola on the 13th. It only has a 3 mile run. I thought I could run maybe 2 to 2 1/2 miles of the run and walk the rest. Luckily I have been able to keep swimming and biking. The location of the fracture was never effected by either of those activities.

As I understand shoe mechanics, if you're a suppinator (which means that you UNDER pronate and is not very common) then you should stay away from stability or motion control shoes which are designed to resist pronation. If your natural tendency is to under pronate (suppinate) then you definitely don't want a shoe that is accentuating your under pronation. For suppinators, I believe a cushion category shoe is appropriate and definitely stay away from motion control and probably even stay away from stability shoes. All of that is, of course, dependent on an accurate assessment from the doctor who has diagnosed your mechanics. Also, are you doing any exercises to fix your biomechanics? Altered strides can be due to a number of factors including weakened muscles, improper muscle pattern firing, altered joint mechanics, etc. and should be addressed. Also, as has been stated, stretch and strengthen. Ice after activity and return to activity slowly. However, I'd be inclined to try to find the root of the problem instead of focusing only on the resultant symptoms.

Same thing happened to me at this time last year. My ortho put me in an aircast for 4 weeks. For the next 2 weeks he let me alternate one day with the cast and one day without, as long as I didn't experience any pain. Following this 6-week period of time, he cleared me to begin running a couple of times per week, but only short distances and only on soft surfaces and treadmills. After 8 weeks total, I was cleared to begin building my frequency and mileage back up. However, during this whole period, I was permitted to water-run and swim as much as I wanted. Thus, my swim got better and I didn't lose much running fitness.

i stress fractured my tibia last november but didn't have it diagnosed (via bone scan) until january - kept running the whole time. it hurt, but not bad enough to stop me. after it was diagnosed, i took a 6 week layoff and started slow on the elliptical trainer. did that for 1 week, with no pain. started road running - 1/2 hour at a time, 7 minutes running, 3 minutes walking to ease into it. did that for a week with no pain. stupidly decided to try a longer run (45 minutes, faster pace, only walking a couple of times to rest the leg). symptoms returned :( but not nearly as bad. just enough that i can feel it. however, this time, rather than laying off completely (the season is upon us) i've been water running. did some research on the web about it and the general consensus seems to be that it can be extremely beneficial not only to those with injuries, but also as part of a regular training program. who'd have known? my pool has flotation belts for loan, so i didn't even need to buy any equipment. i feel like a dork doing it, but hey, you do what you have to do. i would suggest you ease back into running VERY slowly, even if you feel good. don't make the same mistake i did and get a false sense of security just because it feels good on the short, low impact runs. best of luck to you.

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and when it's bad I cry.
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