Tennis elbow and shin splints

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Little Big Kahuna

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Hi all

Anyone help out there? Last season I suffered with shin splints which are still a bit painful and I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on exercises to do in preparation for the new season to ease some of the risk of reoccurence?

Also I have bad tennis elbow at the moment (from my badminton and golf) which I am having steroid injections for but its still really painful and nets start soon! Any advice on what I can do to ease the pain and exercise the arm?

Really appreciate any advice, thanks.
 
what are you? fast bowler, spin bowler, batsman?

my understanding of shin splints is that its a bit of a blanket term for any pain in the lower leg, and isnt so much a condition on its own. its generally caused by some other issue, such as bad technique in a bowling action, or putting excessive loads on your lower legs.

i suffered very bad lower leg pain last summer (in England) where it was bad enough that i was reluctant to play cricket at times. if i rested it then it would ease off, but flare up again as soon as i bowled. after looking at video and discussing the injury with a sports therapist we established (i say we, but Liz Ward deserves all the credit really lol) that it was my bowling action causing the pain because i was putting too much straight on my lower leg.

i corrected the action, and the injury went with it. ive not suffered it at all since. i have no idea about tennis elbow, but id bet you can attribute shin splints to something specific in your lifestyle/cricket and the only way youll properly get rid of it is to fix the problem.
 
Hello! Sorry for jumping into the discussion. But I also have the problems with pain in my lower legs. In general, it gets worse after fielding for 20-25 overs or equal running and even fast walking. I was told that reason behind this was my weak muscles in front lower legs and my walking and running style, that kind of over-works these muscles. I was told that this happens because I lift my legs more than pushing the ground. I do get some relief when I stretch the front lower legs muscles by bending knees and sitting with heels of my legs and base of foot touching my buttocks. This problem really takes the enthusiasm out of me and painful lower legs cut short my stamina, capacity to play and my performance. Is there anything that can make it easier to cope with this or something that can work to reduce this problem?
 
It really is hard to say AD without seeing a video or knowing more about the type of pain, exact location etc.

Are you flat footed? If not, how much of an arch do you have in your foot?
 
Hi Liz, Thanks for your concern again.
I was not flat footed since childhood, but have achieved it over the years somehow. I am not sure how to tell you how much of arch I have, but it is very little for sure. The physio and doctor told me that this happens also because the way I walk and run. I tend to lift my foot rather than pushing the ground. I am told that this tires the muscles in the front of my lower leg and has left the muscles on back of my lower leg weak. Hence when I walk and run, the muscles in front lower leg get over-worked soon, they swell/expand and as there is no room in the leg for their expansion, it starts hurting a lot. It gets very difficult to run in this condition and obviously makes it very difficult for me to play. I was asked to do 'hill rises' to strengthen the back muscles and it helps to some extent. Also when it is paining, if I sit on my legs, with folded knees, and front side of my legs from knee down taking the weight of my body, with heels, base of foot touching my buttocks, I feel the front muscles get some nice stretch and it feels a bit better when I do that. I am not sure if I have been able to explain properly. But please aks me if you want me to explain something in more detail or differently. Thank you very much.
 
No worries AD, your description told me that you were flat footed (over pronated). ;)

Just to be clear, you are not flat footed because of the way you walk... you walk the way you do because you are flat footed!!

There are many reasons for 'dropped' arches but it sounds like tibialis posterior dysfunction in your case [again, I cannot be 100% sure without a video].

Quick remedy is orthotics in the shoes. However, this is assuming you are wearing correct shoes in the first place. So many guys wear totally inappropriate shoes without support and do not tie the laces properly... but I guess you have grown out of this practice! :D

Best remedy is to work on the muscles around and under your foot... whilst sitting, try to raise your arches without moving your toes.
 
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