re: What do I do about shin splints?

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It's not the type of injury that you can run through and it will toughen up. It will only lead to actual fractures of your shin bone.

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I don't think shin splints lead to stress fractures. Stress fractures may be confused as shin splints, but they don't turn into them from everything I've understood. I know there is not necessarily one specific "definition" of exactly what shin splints are. Several things can cause the pain. But in the end, it boils down to inflammation and overstressed muscles surrounding the shin. Could be due to over use or muscle imbalances. For inflammation, take some Aleve and ice it. For overused muscles, take a break and slowly ramp your work back up.

I haven't had them since high school. And I'd only get them right at the beginning of a sports season when I hadn't done anything and got thrown into practices. I never once sat out due to shin splints and never had an issue. Now I'd probably have healed faster if I could have taken it easy for the first week or two after they popped up.

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that certainly doesn't mean you were running like an idiot

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Thanks for your confidence....but I was.

When I was younger I ran flat footed...then over corrected it by running on my toes. Both were terrible on my shins.

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Is it really just ice and prolonged rest?

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Mostly. I didn't get them until I was training in a hilly area.

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Any voodoo tricks you guys know about?

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As far as running "through" them, I would ice immediately after the run, take fluids and elevate. You can wrap them for comfort, but I'm not sure that helps with recovery time. I would occasionally wrap if the pain persisted into the evening.

Oh, and NSAIDs. I'm not sensitive to aspirin so I would alternate aspirin and ibuprofen.