Shin Splints and Biblical Counseling
by Joe Leavell
Photo by Samuel Theo Manat Silitonga from Pexels
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”
Getting into running had never been “my thing” but a few years back I thought I’d give it a try in order to get in shape.
How hard could it be? I’ve known how to run since I was a toddler! You just put tennis shoes on and start out the door, right?
So, with good intentions, new insoles, a running app from my smart phone in one hand, and a bottle of water in the other, I began the process of becoming a ‘runner.’
What I didn’t realize was that there is a to more to running than just, well, running. After a couple of weeks my legs began to hurt. A lot!
After building up to being able to run a few miles each time, my shins would be in such severe and throbbing pain every time I got home! I thought maybe the pain was a normal part of running and was something I just needed to work through, so I tried to fight through the aches. Of course, it just made it get worse and worse to where every time I ran, I had to ice my legs.
Really? Why does anyone like to go running if it’s this painful?? Seriously! How on earth do marathon runners do this?
I quickly became discouraged and backed off, thinking there was something wrong with me and that I was just weak. Especially with the looming summer heat, I was ready to quit entirely.
Providentially, about the same time, I had the unique opportunity to cover a couple of shifts for a vacationing friend at the physical therapy office where he works. I loved seeing these skilled therapists genuinely help hurting people! However, I never anticipated being on the receiving end of their care!
While one therapist told me about his ten zillion-K run (only a slight exaggeration), I related in passing to him about my failed attempts at running and my hurting shins. Two minutes later, I found myself running like mad on the treadmill as the therapist recorded my running stride and looked for issues.
“You know that the treadmill isn’t supposed to pound like that right?” he asked?
I responded in frustration, “Um, I don’t know any other way to run!”
My running technique was apparently so horrendous, it was instantly obvious to the therapist why I was struggling in my running. He observed that I was extending my legs out as far in front of me as I could (I thought it would maximize my stride). With each step I was slamming the ground on my heel and then slapping the rest of my foot. From his description, I was putting up to 700 lbs. of pressure on my legs with every step.
Um…Oops.
I was dumbfounded. Well, I felt dumb, anyway.
I tried to rationalize and explain away my ignorance to the therapist, but he was having none of it.
Over my whining he interjected that I would cause permanent damage to my bone and muscles if I didn’t change my running immediately.
That shut me up.
For the next 15 minutes, the therapist started at the very basics of form and posture and showed me the proper way to run. Correctly. He not only taught me, he himself got on the treadmill and modeled for me what he was talking about. He then made sure I could see the difference in his short stride that propelled him forward using gravity and momentum.
I was a bit overwhelmed until he got me back on the treadmill and patiently demonstrated the mechanics of running until he was satisfied I could do it.
Did it help? Let’s just say that the very next evening I ran five miles pain free, and the first two miles were done in less than 16 minutes – a full 4 minutes faster than I had been able to power through with the shin splints!
Ok, Mr. Therapist. I’m on board!
Parallels in Counseling
I could not believe how many correlations there were between biblical counseling and physical therapy! Here are the top parallels that I saw from my experience and what we at BCA are striving to achieve with every life we are honored to speak into:
We need wisdom to navigate the pain. Wanting to do the right thing and not knowing how can be frustrating and can be a hope killer! Ignorance is not bliss. What you don’t know can hurt you when you are not living according to God’s wisdom.
We need to be humble enough to admit that we need help. We need those who have navigated life through a Gospel-lens to carefully look into our race and speak life into our hearts. Even athletes at the top of their game submit themselves to coaches and physical therapists. Why would we not do the same for our soul?
We can get angry at our caregivers, or we can be teachable and learn. Sometimes the bowing of our pride and scheduling an appointment to talk with someone is the biggest step in counseling. It’s not enjoyable to be wrong and admit that someone else may know something we don’t. There comes a point in time though that the pain is so great that we finally recognize that we need someone who loves us enough to tell us why and help us grow.
We need to hear from those who can genuinely help. If that therapist hadn’t been a skilled runner, I probably wouldn’t have opened up to him. Why? I needed someone who would understand what I was talking about without making stuff up as they go or give surface level platitudes. In life, we must live in community with those who are further down the road in their race and offer real, helpful, Christ-focused solutions to the underlying problem.
We need those who will listen intently and purposefully observe the descriptions of the pain and the problems. It will do us no good if we have a leg injury, but we are given therapy for an arm because we weren’t listened to as we described our symptoms. Many have come to counseling frustrated because they had talked with someone about an issue and left unheard.
We need those who genuinely cares about us. There is nothing worse when you are already in pain than indifference. We need to be surrounded by those who will care about us as a person with the love of Jesus. We are not just as a puzzle to be solved but a person made in the image of God who needs both truth and love.
I still had to go running. It wasn’t enough for me to learn new information. After my time with this physical therapist, I still had to go running to get in shape. Beyond this, I still got sore. But running was instantly different and has never been the same. Rather than destroying my body I was building up my muscles and endurance correctly. I was tired and sore but I wasn’t in pain. In that way, pursuing Christ does bring grueling spiritual workouts, but we will be building strength rather than harming ourselves.
Have I since arrived in my running? Absolutely not! I still think that therapist is crazy to have run 100k marathons but I can hold my own.
I still have lots of room for growth, but at least I’m not killing my legs in the process. I’m grateful that while I was on the verge of quitting, someone cared enough to get me up on the treadmill to tell me what I was doing wrong and share with me how to properly run.
Have I arrived in my relationship with Christ? Nope. I still need help and so do you. I am running my course, but I don’t have to run alone! Even though I am a biblical counselor, I still submit to my own church elders and those who are spiritually wise. These are people who see things in me that I wouldn’t be able to otherwise see and readily point me to Christ.
Who do you have in your life challenging you and walking with you through your hurt? We at BCA would be honored to walk alongside you and help you as you grow. Are you ready to get on the treadmill?
