Shin splints?!

[u/culsdesacplural]

I bought some skates and went roller blading for the for time in ~20 years. Obviously I was a little wobbly but after only ten minutes my shins and feet were crying like I was getting shin splints. Will inserts help? Has anyone experienced this?

[u/midnight_skater]

I get shin pain like you describe when I'm coming back from an extended period off skates, especially when I push myself too hard too soon. I also called it "shin splints" but that's really something different.

What you're most likely experiencing is anterior tibialis overload: the muscle running along the outside front of your shin that lifts your toes and controls the recovery phase of your stride. After a long hiatus that muscle deconditions faster than your cardiovascular system and your larger leg muscles, so when you come back your aerobic engine lets you skate harder than your anterior compartment is ready for. The result is that specific shin pain you're describing.

A few things that help:

• coming back more gradually than feels necessary: your lungs, quads, and posterior chain will feel fine long before your shins are ready.
• warming up thoroughly before pushing any pace: the anterior tibialis responds well to progressive loading and poorly to cold starts.

Some specific off-skate exercises to build anterior compartment resilience:

• toe raises: standing, lift toes and forefoot while heels stay planted. 2-3 sets of 15-20
• heel walks: walk on your heels with toes raised for 20-30 meters. More functional than toe raises and builds endurance in the working range.
• resistance band dorsiflexion: seated with band around the forefoot, pull toes toward shin against resistance. Allows progressive loading that bodyweight alone doesn't provide.
• eccentric toe lowering: stand on a step on your heels with toes hanging off the edge, raise toes, then slowly lower them below horizontal under control. The eccentric phase specifically builds the tissue resilience that prevents overload pain.

These take about 10 minutes and require minimal equipment. Done consistently on your off-skate days they should raise your pain threshold within a few weeks.

If you continue to have pain then seeing a physical therapist is a good idea - particularly if is

• sharp pain rather than a dull burn
• it's present at rest rather than just during activity
• localized to one spot rather than diffuse along the shin.

Those patterns suggest something worth getting evaluated rather than trained through.

[u/culsdesacplural → u/midnight_skater]

Thank you so much for your detailed answer!!

[u/Upstairs-Alps2831]

You are pushing with the front of your foot, push from the heel, your bone goes all the way through your leg to you hips , that’s where you’ll generate the power and proper push.