Calf/Shin pain

[Aquafresh]

When I lean forward on my left leg (during a sprint or getting ready to spike) I get a pain in my shin. The calf of the same leg is also pretty sore, but that may be from exercise. I was wondering if anyone knew anything about what could be wrong, and if someone had some advice for me.

[Aquafresh]

Oh, yea, the shin pain is in the muscle, on the front left of the leg.

[James L.]

If its just a temporary soreness, it sounds like you just worked a muscle hard and it got sore. If you feel pain in your legs every time after you run, it would sound like shin splints, which can be caused from a variety of reasons. The only option there, to get rid of it, is to simply rest, depending on the severity it is usually a few weeks, although if you let it go long enough they could develop into stress fractures. They're most common in hurdlers, although a lot of track athletes develop them, basically because of the sudden upsurge in stress on the shins that comes with the beginning of track season. Running on hard surfaces such as asphault or playing basketball in a gym (jumping up and down on a hard floor) can also help to cause them. Sometimes the problem can be helped by a change in footwear, some peoples' arches in their feet aren't suitable for regular shoes, but with an insert its fine.