Runners

076 RUNNERSWORLD.CO.UK JULY 2018WELL-KNOWN FACT: shinsplints are a massive pain.Not so well known:kinesiology tape can makethem hurt a little less. A study ofpeople with shin splints that waspublished in the Journal of SportsMedicine and Physical Fitness,found that those who wore the tapefor just a week experienced lesspain than those who used shoeinsoles. That’s big news, because- as the study also points out – shinsplints make up 13 per cent of allrunning injuries. If taping away shin splints feelslike a temporary solution, it’s timeto reframe your thinking. ‘Shinsplints happen when you overloadthe muscles in the front of yourshin, causing inlammation in themuscle, tendon and bone,’ saysphysiotherapist Cameron Yuen.‘Kinesiology tape lifts the supericialtissues – which promotes healing bymoving waste products out of thearea – and stimulates nerve endingsthat relax the muscle.’ The elastic nature of the tapealso allows for normal movementpatterns, so you can still log some ofthe miles on your training plan. Yuenrecommends taping the area in themanner shown on these pages (heuses Rocktape, £13.50, rocktape.co.uk), then cutting your mileage inhalf for the next two weeks. ‘Shinsplints are often caused by goingtoo hard or too far without buildingup to it,’ he says. If you feel better,increase your mileage by 10 per centeach week; if you’re still hurting, seea doctor to rule out a stress fracture.‘Shin splints respond well to rest,so something else is going on if youstill feel pain,’ says Yuen.GIVE IT SOMESTICKKinesiology tape could be thesecret to speedier recoveryfrom the dreaded shin splints``````StretchPeel of remainingpaper and stretchthe tape to stickjust beneath thebase of your bigtoe, foot still lexed.