AustrAliAn triAthlete | 67Training TOOLBOX
injuRy management
early signs of MTSS should not be ignored,
as this is the body’s way of telling us that
the stress/load placed upon it, is too much
for it to withstand. Many athletes who are
highly driven by their training don’t like to
hear the word ‘de-load’. However, for the
prevention and management of MTSS,
making appropriate alterations to training
plans is imperative to ensure the injury is
short lived.
Upon the onset of acute symptoms of
MTSS, a decrease of running volume
should be made - this does not
necessarily mean that training must stop.
High training loads are still possible
without having to run kilometres on end.
As triathlete’s we can reap the benefits of
training in other disciplines, both of which
are ideal in this scenario due to their
non-weightbearing nature. This means
decreased running times can beincreased levels of pain may be felt
throughout the workout itself. Many
intrinsic and extrinsic factors can be
attributable to MTSS, and having an
appropriate awareness of these factors
can be useful for prevention and
treatment of the injury.
As athletes, training makes up a major
part of our lives, but often-common errors
in training can make us more susceptible
to overuse injuries such as MTSS. The
MTSS is best categorised by a
dull, diffuse pain along the middle of
the tibia (shin bone).
— Zachary Turnercompensated for, by increased hours on
the bike or in the pool.
Running is a sport with repetitive high
impact, and this needs to be considered
when both, designing and executing
training plans. Training principles such as
‘progressive overload’ can be applied to
ensure increases in training volume are
done so, in realistic and manageable
increments. Progressive overload suggests
that increases in training volume should
not exceed 10% of the current volume.
This gives a simple guideline to follow
when designing training plans to ensure
that loads placed upon the body are not
exceeding its capabilities from which it
can recover from. In conjunction with this,
running surfaces should also be a
consideration when training. Soft surface
running e.g. on grass should form part of
training. This is often easy to incorporate
into speed/fartlek sessions.
Certain biomechanical factors may
also contribute to the likelihood of MTSS.
With running, each foot strike produces
ground reaction forces, which the body
needs to overcome. When assessing
running technique and kinematics, this
remains one of the main risk factors when
considering MTSS. Safe and efficient
biomechanics and kinematics are integral10% RULe:
To help avoid shin splints,
progressive overload
suggests that increases
in training volume should
not exeed 10% of the
current volume.10
%