If you have shin splints from all that treadmill running (go, you!), a little outdoor gait training may help, new research from a UVA Health running expert suggests.
Our David J. Hryvniak, DO, and colleagues found that four weeks of gait training outdoors, added to home exercises often prescribed for shin splints, improved running biomechanics even when the runners were using a treadmill.
During a randomized, controlled trial, Dr. Hryvniak and company divided treadmill runners with stubborn lower leg pain into two groups. One group did the commonly prescribed home exercises, while the other group did both the exercises and gait training.
During the gait training, those participants were outfitted with devices that provided “vibrotactile feedback” – a little vibration – when sensors in their shoes detected their feet were in contact with the ground for too long, a potential contributor to shin splints.
At the end of the study, both groups saw strength improvements in their legs. But the gait trainers also had improved running technique, or what the researchers call “favorable adjustments in running gait mechanics.”
That suggests outdoor gait training could be an important new tool to help treadmill users get back to training pain free.
“Shin splints are a very common running injury, especially with those who are new to the sport,” said Dr. Hryvniak, who is part of our Runner's Clinic. “These gait cues are something that have been shown to be an effective tool that patients can use literally ‘on the run.’”