Play soccer on a club team and hurt my ankle in a game which led to me compensating and in turn getting shin splints. I play goalie so my running is limited but still need to be moving. I know there isn't much you can do but give it time off but that's not really an option. Any advice on helping the process along? Arch supports, painkillers,etc? Any streches I can do to help strengthen the muscle? Any advice would be greatly appreciated
Hey man. I too play keeper, but no longer at club level due to the fact that I'm 48 years old. I'm back to 'rec' status and play just for the Hell of it. Man, I feel Your pain on the ankle situation. BUT, fortunately, I never developed the shin splints. Most of My injuries were 'hamstring' related. The only advice I can offer is...and You've already touched on this...is rest. Ok, so rest isn't an option for You. You can though, take time in the evenings when not playing to sit and chill. Relax in front of the tube with a heating pad wrapped around the painful area. You can alternate ice. Either one is fine, as long as YOU feel the results from it. I'm a firm believer in Advil (ibuprofen). At My age, after a match I'll take 800 milligrams (4 tablets). Also, You can slather down the painful area with any type of analgesic cream such as 'Ben gay'. If you have a 'significant other'...a little rub down wouldn't hurt. Make sure before Your next match to stretch. Stretch SLOW...and for a while. Don't rush at it. Worst case scenario....if You're still in pain during a match....I've found that playing out further away from the box helps Me. For some reason, It hurts less to back pedal than run forward. That's all I got. hope it helps.
My wife is an ATC. She said she usually tapes the arch for that if you're in cleats as there isn't much room for arch supports, etc.
I had shin splints bad in college while playing lacrosse. The doc and trainers had me doing daily ice baths on the shins and electro stimulation. Took about a three weeks. Electro stimulators are cheap and easy to get now a days, www.minimasseuse.com is just one of many.
Former trainer, Grad degree in exercise phys. Rest it as much as possible. Stretch lightly Treatment 800mg ibu 3xday for 4 days then day off. repeat. drink lots of water Ice ten min, heat 10 min, Ice ten min, heat 10 min. nothing for 20-30 min, repeat series once. For the ice freeze some paper dixie cups 3/4 full w/ water. Then peel the paper back and massage the shin with the ice cube. As it melts, peel. With the heat do not apply it directly to the skin-you will blister after the ice. Nuke a wash cloth in a bowl of water till hot. Wring out excess water and lay it on top of your shin sandwiched between the layers of a dry light weight towel. The only effective heat is moist heat. Then repeat the whole ice-heat process 2 more times during the day. You can do this everyday but the important thing is to do 3-4 days in a row. Even runners who dont stop running through shin splints have gotten relief and "cured" them when training/racing. But everyone is different. Good luck!
thats what ive been doing too but I hate having to change my mechanics to compensate for it. dont wanna get beat for an overhead shot because i was playing to deep in the box. the advil is something i normally dont do but think i will start to add in just to get me threw the match. Also Im going to look into getting arch supports too I should be able to fit them into the cleats to help out. Thanks everyone for the advice appreciate it. Playing with shin splints fucking sucks. Take whatever help i can in aiding threw it.
I agree. Stick with that way of thinking. Unfortunately for Me, because I'm older than dirt and still trying to play this game, I have to change it up a bit to stay competitive. I just have to be more aware of one of those 'mid field looper' type shots. Nothing more embarassing than getting scored on that way. But I will say this....there's nothing more awesome than getting some sumbitch coming on a breakaway and coming out after His ass and taking the ball from Him. It doesn't hurt when He gets up limping and cussing too. Play tough. Play smart.
one more thing...after a match, I'll go home and take two 20oz coke bottles of water that I had frozen, and put them on the floor and roll My feet across them back and forth. My arches take a beating.
Haha those are awesome saves but the best is the stryker playing across and get the volley into the upper 90 when you have to change directions and lay right out.. That my man is the shit i love Haha
Dear metalkid, I hate You....here's why: I am the assistant coach on My kids 12U rec team. We were a kid short today. I was chosen to play keeper for the 'NOT SO TALENTED' kids team. I was diving, rolling, and chasing errant shots all over the Gee Dee place. At one point while the ball was at the other end of the field, I thought about this thread and got to chuckling. Then my right shin started hurting. Thanks alot. On a lighter note, the one fat kid on the team ACCIDENTLY found Himself alone on a breakaway. I took his ass out. His Mom got mad at Me.
hahaha I love it. Props to you for being able to deal with a u12 team. I assisted coaching a girls u15 team (keep in mind this is a club team) these girls were lazy as fuck didn't wanna listen or do anything. Talked back and all that good stuff. Took all my might not to strangle all of them Haha. Needless to say I went back to coaching a boys team hahaha
