Rope jumping (shin splints)

[M3lony]

So I started rope jumping in the beggining of 2017. I really did it excessive, like 4-5 hours every week. I was a beginner, not really good at it, but super motivated so I tried really hard with 90min sessions.
2-3 Weeks later the pain in my shins started, didnt even know what it was so I just ignored it. Got worse and worse and so bad eventually that I took a break for 2 weeks. At this point I could barely walk without pain.
The break didnt do anything, even tho I didnt feel it first, 2 mins after jumping again I felt it and had to stop.

Went to the doctor, got ibuprofen against the inflammation and wraps for the next 2 weeks. Had a break for 6 weeks and then started again. 10mins of jumping was enough and I had pain again for the next week.
Had an MRI but nothing was visible according to the doctor.

Even after 3 months of not touching the rope, after jumping for 10mins I felt it coming again.



Now I had a break for almost 6 months and Im sitting here again with pain after a 30min session. This is ridiculous.

My shoes are fine, same as the surface and I dont think theres anything wrong with my jumping technique either. Its just sad that I can do all sorts of tricks but can barely jump 3mins through.
My entire life I felt my shins while jogging or training calves. So I guess I really have the potential to get this kind of pain.


Is there anything I can do at this point? I cant even do a 10 min session a week after few months of break so not sure where to go from here.


(I hope this is the right place for this thread, didnt know where I should post it)

[gbullock32]

Had wicked shin splints from running when I was younger, rest them and work on improving strength in the shins; doing these exercises helped me a lot and I stick to them still, never had any issues in years.

[sowilson]

That video ^^^^ has a lot of great exercises. I would also add in performing dynamic warm-ups barefoot or in stockings, or during the summer in a sand pit (sand volleyball, beach, long jump pit). Working in loose sand is good for a lot of things (feet, ankles, knees, etc). You may also want to try KT taping for symptom relief (works for many).

[M3lony]

Funny looking exercises, will defenitely try them, thanks. Now I gotta rest them anyways for probably one or two weeks again before I try that.

Is foamrolling and stetching the calves also recommended?


Will look into KT taping too.


Besides BB I never really did any sport and Im ususally a couch potatoe, I guess my shins might need alot of adjustment because they are just not used to it.


Edit: found this




Gets me a bit of hope again.

[sowilson]

foam rolling can work, it can also be rather painful for shin splints. Start out with the band work shown in the video and toe raises (i.e. place the edge of a plate on your toes and try to lift the plate up). Working on general ankle mobility will also work to stretch the muscles of the lower leg. It goes without saying that you need to balance your posterior chain workouts and have mobile hips but you can still develop shin splints. I like the video you posted.

[ThePaperCutter]

As an avid distance runner, I’ve had my fair share of leg injuries. Including shin splints. Never increase intensity or duration/distance too dramatically and too quickly. You need to ease into things, not start out with 90min sessions of jump rope. What I find helps is to take a few Dixie cups (small cup, that holds ~6-8oz), fill them with water, put them in the freezer. After they’ve frozen, go to your bathtub or shower, sit down, and start massaging your shins with the ice directly on your shins. Don’t hold the ice in the same spot for more than a few seconds, just do circles on your shins. The cold will hurt at first, but it won’t harm you I promise (because you aren’t keeping them in the same spot). Do this for about 15 min on each shin. And do that about 2-3 times a day (if you can). It really helps with the pain and helps them heal quickly.

The worst shin splints I had was from running on them for 3 months. At the end of the season I was overdosing in pain killers by a few thousand mg. So I went to the doctor and he said I was running on stress fractures and that I was an idiot (they became stress fractures). But it only took about 1.25 months (~6 weeks) to fully heal.

After taking time off, slowly get back into it and stretch before you do cardio like that, especially stretch your shins. A lot of people don’t stretch. But it can help you feel a lot better during a workout, and will help prevent injuries down the road. Good luck

[M3lony]

As an avid distance runner, I’ve had my fair share of leg injuries. Including shin splints. Never increase intensity or duration/distance too dramatically and too quickly. You need to ease into things, not start out with 90min sessions of jump rope. What I find helps is to take a few Dixie cups (small cup, that holds ~6-8oz), fill them with water, put them in the freezer. After they’ve frozen, go to your bathtub or shower, sit down, and start massaging your shins with the ice directly on your shins. Don’t hold the ice in the same spot for more than a few seconds, just do circles on your shins. The cold will hurt at first, but it won’t harm you I promise (because you aren’t keeping them in the same spot). Do this for about 15 min on each shin. And do that about 2-3 times a day (if you can). It really helps with the pain and helps them heal quickly.

The worst shin splints I had was from running on them for 3 months. At the end of the season I was overdosing in pain killers by a few thousand mg. So I went to the doctor and he said I was running on stress fractures and that I was an idiot (they became stress fractures). But it only took about 1.25 months (~6 weeks) to fully heal.

After taking time off, slowly get back into it and stretch before you do cardio like that, especially stretch your shins. A lot of people don’t stretch. But it can help you feel a lot better during a workout, and will help prevent injuries down the road. Good luck

Thanks for the advice.

Ive bought a cooling gel pad shortly after I made the thread, put it on there about 3 times a day for about 10-15mins and it helped alot.
Foamrolling also seems to help. But Im not doing my shins, but my calve, or to be more precise from my ankle up to the beginning of my calve. Theres some serious tension so might have to do with it.

Also doing a proper warm up now instead of just start jumping.

I had 2 sessions each about 10-15 mins recently and it felt pretty ok. One of the hardest parts will be to discipline myself to keep the sessions short. Since I love it so much I could do it for hours, but Im now aiming for 2-3 10min sessions each week.

I also getting it always on the right shin first, same goes for knee pain. Might have to do with my hips since I have the feeling of my right leg being longer. Gonna ask the doc next week.

[bloodseek]

I've had really bad shin splints and they suck. I went through the same thing you did for about 2 years. What helped me are shin compression sleeves. You can get them on Amazon for about 12-20 bucks. Good luck

[ThePaperCutter]

My shin splints also started on just my one leg. I think it’s pretty normal for that to happen. And you can increase the time and intensity of the jump roping. Just do it gradually