The Link Between Potassium and Shin Splints
What if shin splints were actually a sign of a deeper systemic issues and not just a local tissue problem?
In this episode of Unreal Results, I unpack how shin splints and exertional compartment syndromes often stem from more than just overuse or tight calves. Drawing on my own personal experience and recent work with BUD/S candidates, I share how swelling, fluid stagnation, and the nervous system in the lower leg create what I call functional compartment syndrome and why the key to resolving it often starts far away from the shin itself.
In this episode, you’ll hear:
Why low potassium contributes to swelling, compartment pressure, and muscle tightness
How to recognize when “shin splints” are masking deeper fluid or nerve compression issues
How stress and adrenal drive deplete key minerals like potassium and magnesium
Why swelling management is the non-negotiable first step in lower-leg recovery
The connection between electrolyte balance, bone health, and nervous system tone
Whether you treat endurance athletes, tactical professionals, or chronic lower-leg pain cases, this episode reframes shin splints as a whole-body problem with a whole-body solution.
Resources & Links Mentioned In This Episode:
Episode 3: Swelling Reduction Protocol That Works Like Magic
Episode 37: Swelling Protocol Update
Episode 53: Shin Splints: Beyond Overtraining & Rest - Complete Guide
Episode 79: The Deeper Impact of Plyometrics w/ Matt McInnes Watson
Get the Hy-Lyte Potassium Electrolyte Powder HERE*
Learn the LTAP™ In-Person in one of my upcoming courses
*This link is an Amazon affiliate link, meaning I earn a commission from any qualifying purchases that you make
Considering the viscera as a source of musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction is a great way to ensure a more true whole body approach to care, however it can be a bit overwhelming on where to start, which is exactly why I created the Visceral Referral Cheat Sheet. This FREE download will help you to learn the most common visceral referral patterns affecting the musculoskeletal system. Download it at www.unrealresultspod.com
=================================================
Watch the podcast on YouTube and subscribe!
Join the MovementREV email list to stay up to date on the Unreal Results Podcast and MovementREV education.
Be social and follow me:
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
-
Anna Hartman: Hey there and welcome. I'm Anna Hartman and this is Unreal Results, a podcast where I help you get better outcomes and gain the confidence that you can help anyone, even the most complex cases. Join me as I teach about the influence of the visceral organs in the nervous system on movement, pain and injuries, all while shifting the paradigm of what whole body assessment and treatment really looks like.
I'm glad you're here. Let's dive in.
Hello. Hello. Welcome back to another episode of the Unreal Results Podcast. I was just like looking when the last podcast was. It was two weeks ago. I was like, I thought it was a week, but then I was like, no, I think it was more than a week. Um, I couldn't remember what I was doing, so I looked it up and oh, I remembered I, after the last new episode, which was the episode on Using the Heart or the Pulse Oximeter.
For, um, heart rate, resting heart rate, and looking at respiratory sinus arrhythmia. I, um, went to Toronto and taught the in-person LTAP level one course. There. It was a great group. Um, had a great time teaching. Um. Loved, loved, loved the vibe in Toronto and I was even able to catch a playoff baseball game, uh, when the Mariners were there in the, um, American League Championship series.
So that was pretty awesome. Um, I've already been to the Rogers Center before, so um, it was not my first time experience Blue Jay's baseball, but Blue Jay's baseball. In the playoffs. That's a whole nother vibe. I will say one of the best playoff vibes I've been in, so much so that, I mean, I was rooting for the Mariners.
My friend is the first base coach for the Mariners. Um, so I was like, you know, rooting for the person who got me tickets and the person I know. However, being in that vibe, the Canadian pride. That was on the line and just everyone happy and joyful and cheering. It was a contagious and very hard not to root for the blue Jays.
So, um, yeah, good times. What a concept when you only have one baseball team in the whole country. Everybody's a, everybody's a fan, right? So, um, yeah, that was really cool. I enjoyed it and I got to see some friends who I haven't seen for too many years, like best friends from when I lived in Arizona and it was so good to see them.
And they have two little boys that are not so little anymore, I think like 10 and 12. And, um, I've known them since they were born and. Used to see them when they lived in, when, when we all lived in Arizona. I would like, it was like a regular occurrence for me to go over to their house and hang out and, um, do dinner with them.
And so I just hadn't seen them in so long. And you know how kids are like, sometimes kids forget people like that. Like even though I was around them a lot, I was like expecting them like. To kind of remember me, but like not really care that much. They were so happy to see me. It made my heart so happy.
Like my friend tennis, she kept saying, oh, the kids are so, so excited you're coming. They can't wait to see you. I thought she was just like saying that to like hype it up. She was not wrong. When I walked up to them, they like yelled my name, like ran to me. They were so excited and the whole time we hung out, they were just like chatting me up and it was, it was just like they were little kids again and it was just very sweet.
So, um, I love being Auntie Anna to so many of my friends and athletes kids, uh, not just my own nieces. Wow. I don't know where this yawning is. Oh, speaking of yawning, actually it was interesting thing I was talking to my friend. Teaching assistant Dom, uh, Dominique Hartley. And we were talking about just like, um, oh, some supplements I was on and like how I think I was, I've talked about potassium, which I'm gonna be talking about potassium more today on this podcast.
But I was just like, like sharing how helpful it's been to like life changing, it's been in my own body. And, um. How my blood work's improved, blah, blah, blah. Anyways, and she was like, have you noticed too? She's like, you don't yawn as much on your videos and your podcast episodes and stuff. And I was like, interesting.
Maybe you're right. And uh, so yeah, but obviously I just yanked, so it's also the time of day, but it's just like, oh, I could go for a nap. But instead I'm sitting down for a podcast. I just got back from, uh, running some errands and, um, I ate these, I am a sucker for fried plantains and there's this El Salvador, El Sal, El Salvadorian restaurant in the food court at the mall.
And, uh, they had fried plantains and El Salvadorian sour cream. So I got some to go, oh my gosh, I just ate them.
The El Salvadorian sour cream was perhaps life changing, like I can't imagine now eating fried plantains without that. It's so much better than the other sauce that they give when the plantains are not El Salvadorian so big fan of that. Um. But you know how it is in the afternoon. You just have some good food and I, you know, I could just go lay down on the couch in the sunshine and take a little nap.
But instead we're gonna talk about shin splints. This is episode I've been teasing for a while now, and, um, I feel like I'm finally. In a spot with my guys who had the shin splints that I'm like, yeah, let's talk about it. They're, they're relatively fixed. And um, more importantly, I feel like we've cracked the code and as with anything, it's like multi-layered and, um.
When I reflect back on the previous episode I did on shin splints, which I'll have Joe link in the show notes, right? Like I did a whole episode already on shin splints. And, um, when I reflect back on that episode, you know, I re-listened to it at one point not too long ago just to see like what I said and what I was missing and, you know, if it was even worthwhile doing a second podcast on it.
And, um. That's what, that was, a very thorough podcast and a very thorough, thorough approach to shin implants. And so, um, and I did pretty much every single one of those things that I mentioned in that podcast episode. And so it's like, yeah, I definitely would start there. Um, I'm kinda gonna kind of like dive in from a level of like, assuming you've already listened to that, so if you haven't listened to it, you might wanna start there first, but.
To back up, especially if you're sort of new here or have just forgotten this summer. The, the, um, when was it, like end of May, beginning of June, um, I started working with a, um, Navy Seal Candidate Buds, uh, like a BUDS candidate. Um. Who had been suffering from really severe shin splints for, um, a year, about a year previous, and been to a bunch of doctors, been to a bunch of physical therapists, like nobody really had helped, but was able to help 'em or really even gave them answers.
Be shy besides just like, oh yeah, it's just shin splints. And I mean, and you even hear me say just shin splints. And so. He was so defeated because especially, especially given what he was doing, you know, trying to become a Navy Seal and the doctors, the therapists, like everybody just telling him like, oh, it's just shin splints.
Like, you'll be able to get through it. It'll eventually feel better. Just modify your training, blah, blah, blah. And basically I think a lot of the mentality in the military and especially in special horses in the military and especially in the level that he's in, which is like not even, he's not special forces yet.
He's trying to be right, like, um, they're a little bit like, don't stop being a little bitch and like rub some dirt on it. You're fine. And. First of all, he was not fine. He was not fine. And so many times the athletes who come see me with things like this, 'cause this is a lot of who I see, which is like, I have this problem and it hasn't gotten better and I've seen everyone and I am at a loss.
Right. Um, part of the thing is they feel, especially in, in. High level athletics, they feel ashamed, they feel embarrassed, they feel worthless. Um, and so, you know, and the first step with him too was being like, uh, you're not making this up. This is very challenging. This is very difficult. And also we're going to.
Try a different approach than you've been trying. So the approach that he was trying, um, rest, he had tried some massage, didn't really feel a ton of relief from it. He tried dry needling. I think they even did hydro dissection. Um, he'd try a million exercises. Nothing really was shifting, you know, different modalities, different, you know, stuff like that.
Nothing really shifted. So when I saw him. The first thing that jumped out at me, which is, uh, um, pretty consistent now, uh, even with the next person, uh, that I've seen with, or the next couple, few people I've seen, which in splints here, um, in the BUDS pipeline. Um. Is the first thing was like a lot of swelling, um, and, uh, presents as a compartment syndrome esque type of situation.
And so, you know, when it comes to then massage. The thing that is tough when it comes to doing any bit of manual therapy on people with a lot of swelling in their lower legs is it is extremely hard to make progress, and it's extremely hard to get past this feeling of like tightness and pain and, um. I think often it gets mistaken as tightness.
But when you think about it, and I think I've talked about this on a couple of podcasts, but um, when there's fluid in the compartments like that, it creates so much pressure in the compartment and it fills up the spaces of the compartment. And so it becomes this really stiff. Hard, inflexible container and it's, so, it's kind of like, you know, I always give the example of like if you went to crush a soda can.
When it was full, it's like nearly impossible. You can stand on a soda, can full soda can with your whole body weight, and it doesn't crush. But when there's no fluid in there, it crushes really easily because it's super flexible, is really supple. It's how our lower leg is too. So the step one for everyone has been managing the compartment syndrome and oftentimes, and I say kind of like com compartment syndrome as a loose term. It's almost kind of like a loose term, much like shin splints is, right? Shin splints can be various things. It's basically a catchall, catchall term for someone who's having pain in their lower legs, a along the shin on either side. And, um, it, the actual, like tissue pain generator can be many different things. Compartment syndrome sometimes can present as shin splints and compartment syndrome itself is a very loose term in terms of, you know, traditional true compartment syndrome. And then you've got exertional compartment syndrome, and then you've got kind of like. I guess I'll call it functional compartment syndrome.
Functional compartment syndrome sometimes happens after injuries. It happens after intense training. It happens just with poor health of the lymphatic system. Poor health of the vascular system, poor health of um. The body in general, like with extra inflammation, mineral imbalance, et cetera. So, um, many layers that can be compartment syndrome, which is why sometimes when I talk to doctors, when I've talked to doctors about these cases, and when I say compartment syndrome, they're like, I don't know if I agree, because they're looking at compartment syndrome as like a definitive thing. I'm looking at compartment syndrome of like, you have too much fluid in the compartments and it's creating compression on the neurovascular structures, which in turn is causing weakness, causing pain, disability, et cetera. So, um, the thing about compartment syndrome too. Especially as I've looked more into it, trying to get a diagnosis for this athlete, for this guy talking to my supervising physician about it. And it was kind of like, he's like, honestly, Anna, and he's like, in my career, he's like, I've only done a couple fasciotomies because it.
Really rare, and also he's like, it's hard to diagnose. He's like, there's not a gold standard of diagnosis. It's sort of like you've tried everything and you're at your wit's end, and so you're like, let's try surgery. He's like, the only time I've done surgery on people is when they've explicitly asked, and I know that they've exhausted every other option.
He's like. I wouldn't rush towards the surgery at all. And then after I heard from him too, I started reading and hearing about like nightmare type, um, complications from fasciotomy surgeries that I was like, Hmm, yeah, maybe I even told my athlete, I was like, maybe we shouldn't push this narrative anymore because I I don't want a doctor to feel like they have no options but to do surgery and I feel like I don't wanna go to surgery unless we really know we're out of options. Unless we really know that's the answer. It's like I would really love to like have a way to diagnose it better, and especially too, like the way his was specifically presenting was a deep posterior compartment syndrome.
With like an entrapment of the tibial nerve and, um, that is like the most complex of all the fasciotomies. And so it's like, maybe not. And um. It was, yeah, between the conversation with the doctor and then reading the complexity of the surgery and then a couple nightmarish stories of people who had significant disability from complications from the surgery of fasciotomy.
I was like, okay, let's stop with this narrative and we're just gonna agree with the doctors that it's shin splints, um, a severe case of shin splints. Anyways, I kind of veered off the path, but that was step one. And that's been step one for anyone. And the best way I can explain of how to know when someone has too much fluid in their lower legs is a combination of three things.
Number one, the most telling problem probably is do they get a sock line, um, or a pant line. Like if it's yoga pants, do they have a line from their yoga pants if they're wearing socks or boots, do they have a line from socks or boots? I don't care how long you're on your feet for, um, and how active you are having a sock line or a boot line.
Um, after. Take once you take 'em off. That is not normal. That is a sign of some sort of stagnation or blockage of your fluid systems and sets the stage for compartment like syndrome. Um, and sets the stage for the next sort of symptom or like sign of it, which is this tightness. The whole Coke can scenario of like, when there's fluid in there, you can do all the massage in the world and you're not changing shit because you're just pressing, pressing on a filled fluid container.
And it's always going to appear and feel very uncomfortable and very tight. Um, and then the third one being a diminished pulse, a diminished posterior tibials pulse. This can be hard to feel. This can also not be on the same side as the issue. Um, and then also so many times these people are complaining of bilateral shin splint, bilateral pain like this.
And so when you don't have one side that feels strong, when they're both diminished, it's hard to know what is diminished. Sometimes, and then also if you've never felt their PO pulse before, you don't know if that's diminished or the normal pulse or what, unless it's completely kind of absent. So that can be another helpful tool.
Um, the ways to treat the, the swelling. Is my FI mean, obviously my favorite swelling reduction protocol. I'll have Joe link that episode in the show notes, you know, but the swelling reduction protocol, what is it? It's clearing the top spots that are potential areas of entrapment of the fluid, which is gonna be, when it comes to the lower extremity, it's gonna be the left thoracic duct, which is um, behind, right, the clavicle, the retro clavicular space.
The area around the liver and the, um, diaphragm like thoracolumbar junction, um, that is another, um, possible entrapment site as those vessels cross under this ligament. Um, and the liver, they articulate with each other as well as the, um. Around the area of the diaphragm as it trans trans transfers, uh, as it goes from being in the abdominal space to the thoracic space as it drains back into the heart.
Um, other key spots are the front of the hips, so the iliac vessels, um, the top, which is basically the top or the proximal, proximal superior cephalic end of the adductor canal, the coddle end of the adductor canal, which is the adductor hiatus. That's where the femoral artery turns into the popliteal artery.
So that's that space, about four fingers, um, above the medial joint line of the. Then the, um, space between the fibula and the tibia anterior space, kind of upper, um, anterior compartment of the lower leg. That's another big vascular spot. There's another hiatus there that, um, blood vessels, uh, go through.
And then the lower leg itself. Um, the compartments and themselves are a main entrapment site, but like I said, when those are full of fluid, you can't start there. You can't start there. And starting there with deep tissue sometimes feels like a lost cause. So actually starting with. The, the flexible silicone cups and doing a skin lift technique can be much better to start to help get the fluid flowing out of that entrapment site, especially once you clear that proximal tib area.
And the adductor hiatus. So those are key spots. The other thing, and this is sort sort of how we started, where I started the podcast when we were talking about Toronto, but the other thing I do, and I'm not your doctor, I, and I'm not a doctor of anything, um, that is my disclaimer and um, however, one of the things.
I that it has been a game changer for me and my exertional compartment syndrome has been adding potassium supplement into my life. I no longer get sock lines. When I do, it's apparent, like when, I mean that's a lie, so I do get sock lines occasionally. I use that, always have them. Now I only have them at certain times, and often it's like, oh, yep.
I would have guessed it 'cause I've slacked off on taking my potassium or I, you know, some, some, some other reason for my lymphatic congestion to increase. Now, um, the potassium, there's been many, I'm going to, I'm gonna go off on a tangent. Shocker. Um, in this episode, because we're gonna talk a little bit more about the benefits of potassium too.
Because it ties back into some other components of, um, shin splints, um, as well is what I've noticed with my military guys. So, potassium, I have linked in my Amazon store, which I'll have Joe link in the show notes. My favorite supplement. Obviously you can get potassium from food, potassium rich foods. I think like green leafies.
Um, potatoes. Potatoes are a big one with the skin on both regular potatoes and sweet potatoes. Um, and then I forget the rest. Uh, avocado is another one. Um, I don't know. You can look it up. It's pretty easy to Google that. Um, but I find for me that I do best with supplementing at least half of the daily requirements.
The daily requirements of potassium is four to six grams or 4,000 to 6,000 milligrams. Um. I supplement about, nowadays about 2000 grams via the A powder supplement. That's what I have linked in my Amazon store. Um, my favorite, it's called K 1000. It's made by a company called Highlight, and it's just potassium.
And I think there might be a little bit of magnesium in it, but there's no sodium in it. If there is sodium in it, it's like barely anything, like 30 grams maybe. And then there's also no sugar, which is like a big thing. Important thing is for me, watching extra unneeded calories that are, you know, empty, empty ish calories.
But, um, also, um. For a lot of people, it's nice to have supplements that don't come with added stuff. It's literally just that it's potassium citrate and so it's absorbed very quickly. Um, oh, I guess the other food is bananas. I don't like bananas. Um, I was just laughing because recently there was a Monday night football game, or Brock Purdy had like, allegedly had like 11 bananas and I was like.
I would recommend just the potassium supplement and somebody was like, oh, food's so much better. And I'm like, actually, in that moment, in, in a game, eating 11 bananas, not ideal. Drinking 12 ounces of fluid with a thousand milligrams is gonna be just as much, if not more potassium, and also absorbed way quicker.
'cause it takes a while for you to absorb potassium through food. Um. Because he was cramping, I guess. So anyways, I digress. Um, again, though I'm not a doctor, I'm not your doctor, so I can't recommend a supplement for you, but this is a supplement that I take and literally has been life changing for me and I or softly.
Suggested it to my guys with once, and especially because in the military they are very much pushed to have high doses of sodium. Sodium, which. I get the reasoning, but also not ideal because when you have too much sodium, you actually retain the water. And then this causes more of the compartment syndrome type stuff.
So also along with the potassium, I encourage food as well, but then this eent and I'm like maybe back off the salt a little bit. They eat a lot of it in their food, but then they're all obsessed with the element, uh, lm, LMNT supplement. And um, I just. They also, like many athletes and many people in the world, they think is, if some is good, then more is better.
And so I'm constantly reminding them too, when it comes to things like this, more is not better, better is better. Um, just because one element is good doesn't mean 10 elements a day are good, right? So part of it too is just them just not understanding the power of some of these electrolyte supplements.
So, uh, the potassium one though. I love because it's just potassium. It's not sodium. Most other electrolyte blends that blend sodium and potassium. Potassium always have so much more sodium than potassium. If they have any potassium, it's pretty low. So I love that. It's just potassium. So adding that in for them has been really helpful to decrease their swelling.
Very quickly actually. And then once the swelling was under control, we were able to get more out of our deep tissue, which was still really needed. Massage manual therapy, deep tissue massage for shin splints is a must. This is the tough part in which makes it a challenging for people who want to make a different, like make a change fast.
'cause it's expensive to have somebody do deep tissue massage on your legs. Um, more than one time a week. And that's really what you need when you have especially severe shin splints like he did. We ended up having to do manual therapy like 40 days in a row now. That's crazy. I will, uh, well, uh, it is crazy.
We had a very limited window of time and then we also couldn't take off time. While we were trying to fix the shin splints, he was still running at first like 10 to 30 miles a week, and then 60 miles a week, and then 70 miles a week, and then a hundred miles a week, and then 250 miles per week. And so we couldn't not do every day.
In a perfect world, we might have gotten away with less, but. With that volume of load, we still needed to do it daily, so, but we needed to change these calves to like a supple calf with space. And the deep tissue helps not only with the, the, the quality of the fascia and the muscles, but it also helps to help pull out that fluid.
I actually think that's probably the biggest benefit of it is like. The potassium helps, the cupping helps, but you still, especially if it's been just stagnant in there for a while, you need an external way to pump it out. And the deep tissue, you cannot replace that. You cannot replace that with firefly devices.
You cannot replace that with a NormaTec period. Yeah. Are those helpful too? Sure. Did we use them too? Yes. Because I'm like, yeah, everything we can do to get this fluid out of here and get your muscles and the containers of your low leg to be more supple is gonna help us out. So that was step one. Step two was restoring midfoot mobility.
So, um, their foot could absorb some forces. Um, I think just given the amount of volume that they do and training leading up to prep and re and end during first phase, um, is what makes their mid fit so stiff along with sometimes the boots that they're in or the shoes that they're in. Um, but so that becomes something that we had to focus on too, um, which was helpful.
Um, in a perfect world. We would've, well, I'm not gonna repeat the old, the old podcast, but in the old podcast we talked about the sous and like, um, return to like plyo maybe program and like how important that is. We didn't have that luxury. I would've loved to be able to do that, but we didn't have that luxury.
I'll talk about it in a second too, on my other guy of where that could fit in. Um, but the next piece, um, as things started feeling better as the supplement suppleness of the soft tissue improved, um, we're still having some pain along the, um. Inside of the leg. We tried different taping, we tried different nerve glides.
We tried regular dry needling. Um, and then the thing that really was the game changer, the thing that really like took us over the next hump and allowed us to get over the pain part for him was, um, periosteal pecking with the needles as well in combination. So periosteal pecking in combination with e-stim', intra needle, intramuscular needle, electrical stimulation, low frequency to stimulate the body's own pain relief, um, both locally and centrally.
And that was a huge piece and, and um, um, but all of that, like, it wasn't just one thing. I think if we had started with that, it wouldn't have helped. But it's like we got rid of all the things that were leading to this severe shin splint case for him and basically got him to a point where he literally had no s champagne probably for the all of first phase.
Um. Which is when he was doing like 150 miles a week and then for how week, which was like 275 miles a week, like he really didn't have any pain, which was unbelievable. If you would've told us back in May when we started that he would never have optioned like that, he wouldn't have shin splint pain during first phase and during hell week.
I would've not believed you. Not believed you at all. There was a moment. During this whole thing that I'm like, I don't, I don't know how we're gonna get you through this. Like, I, I don't know if it's possible, but be the, the thing was we kept seeing some progress. It wasn't as fast as I would've liked, but it was like every day it was like we were peeling the layers back and it just was like, be patient and like keep adding in other little things that could.
It could move the needle. And like some things did and some things didn't. And the things that didn't, we didn't keep. But the things that did, we kept from the beginning, the swelling piece, then the deep tissue piece, and then the pain relieving with the needles. Um, the midfoot mobility, those were the big dial movers for him.
So the next person, his pain was a little bit more, was very similar, which was like, okay, we got this. It wasn't as severe. And he had changes from the beginning, but same thing, swelling was a big one and then deep tissue and then his was a little bit more true stress reaction, um, of, of the bone, especially on one side.
And so, um for him well, and this also for the other guy, I think this is part of it. Um, they both felt better during phase first phase than they did previously, but the thing that changes is the surface they're running on. So once first phase starts, a lot of their miles are on sand, whereas before their miles were on concrete.
And so the pounding. The pounding, taking out the pounding was really helpful. And um, along with the periosteal packing and eem with the needles was a huge piece of getting rid of the pain from that bony periosteal pain feeling that they were getting. Um, and. The stress fracture piece. This goes back to the, the piece about the solia strengthening and the yielding, right?
Like yielding type of, um, plyometrics, if you want to call it, they're not really plyometrics, but the yielding from Matt McInnes Watson's programming, which I did a podcast episode with him, so I'll have Joe link that in the show notes too.
If I was their coach before they started the this last ramp into first phase, I would've taken the time to do a lot of yielding with them to do a lot of like preparatory plyometric work to help them absorb forces better into the ground. So many of them have never had any training like that, and they just start, they just go and run.
And then they add all these miles and they're young kids, you know, they're young men, and so they can, and then, but it's just, you know, loading, loading, loading, banging on their bones and, and it's just sets them up for stress reactions like this as Wow. And this is what's gonna wrap us back into the potassium when you look at.
The stress response on the body and how it also adds to a scenario that increases stagnant fluid in the lower legs and causing a compartment syndrome thing, but then also can create mineral dumping, right? Leaching from the bones and a and a environment that really creates osteoclastic, like bone breakdown phenomenon.
They're in it. This high stress environment, high stress, high catecholamines, high adrenal drive, like this hypers sympathetic state, long duration, hyper sympathetic state. It exhausts our minerals and it. Depletes us in magnesium and potassium and sodium, um, in calcium and the magnesium and the calcium, like get pulled from the bone, as well as you're already in like a very catabolic state from the hormones that are being released with this adrenal response.
And it really, it really changes. Um. The function at the kidney level. And so this, I think too, is like why our potassium, magnesium, sodium, everything gets so low. And um, so I think this is a very interesting piece too, of the potassium, especially in this population. Or other populations that are having some like stress reactions from a bone standpoint is like what's going on with their electrolytes, what's going on with their stress state, their cortisol, their, you know, adrenal function, their, you know, and this is where it is like.
Connecting with a functional medicine type of practitioner is so huge because you can test those things and you can create a better clinical picture. But there is some assumptions that like guys going through this, they're like, like sympathetic for so long and that just we can like being in a hyper sympathetic state for that long.
Anyone, not just athletes, not just military people, just. Runs the gamut of effects on our minerals, on our hormones, on our bone. Health on top of athletes and military guys in this situation also are usually not ingesting enough calories. And so they get in a scenario that easily, easily shifts them into a state where a stress fracture stress response is more likely.
And so, um. I just can't, the mineral bees, I just can't hammer enough of the importance of it because the potassium is thought to be kind of like a governor for our nervous system. Because it relates to the nerves so much, it tends to help shift as in a more parasympathetic state. So not only are you replenishing your minerals, but you're also really supporting this nervous system regulation as well, which is going to like help to recalibrate things as well.
And so I just, I really do like. I'm in love with potassium. I think it's a really underrated electrolyte, like sodium gets all the press and magnesium gets a lot of press, but I think potassium just has. Especially in the populations I work with, just has a lot of potential for really being supportive, uh, for them.
Of course, any supplement is not without risks, so it's like it interacts with certain drugs. It's not good for people with kidney problems like Right. But like I said, I'm not your doctor or a doctor, which is why it's nice to have a doctor or healthcare provider that knows how to measure things in your body.
Help you out. Um, and then also with, that's also a bit of the, that's what I mean by more is not better. Better is better. More is not better. I tell my guys like, I'm going to suggest this supplement, but more is not better. Max two scoops no more than that. You don't need more than that, um, because you're getting it from your food too.
And then also, if I tell them, max two scoops, they're gonna do three. And so then I'm like, okay. No more than that, even though I know they're losing a lot. And then you're monitoring your symptoms too. Like if you start having symptoms of too much potassium, then you back off of it. Um, potassium citrate's great because it like goes through you pretty quick.
Um, but anyways, the other interesting thing I'm like, is this a podcast about shin plants or potassium? Interesting. Right? It's about both. But kind of potassium because now I'm gonna tell you the other bits of the potassium, which has kind of been a game changer. And actually this part about potassium, which was interesting to me, made me start thinking about it from a stress reaction, bone response too.
It kind of opened my eyes to like, what other things, what other reasoning? Is there for the potassium being helpful in this type of population. And so what we've found too is the guys that are working with me on the shin splints and then taking the potassium, they're the only guys in their groups, in their class to not chafe during their during first phase and during hell week, which is kind of unbelievable.
That is like a big problem. In buds is chafing because they're so, they're always wet and sandy and like, I'm not sure if you've ever been wet in Sandy before, but then had clothes on and had to run or do sit-ups or bear walks or all the things they do. Um, the sand gets in, like, you know, anywhere your clothes are rubbing on, you sand's in there and it acts like sandpaper and that's what creates the chafing and that's usually a huge problem for them.
And very painful, very debilitating. And it was interesting 'cause the first person went through and he didn't chafe at all. And then this next other person went through and he's not chafing. And so we're like, oh my gosh, did I just solve the problem of chafing in buds? And the problem of shin splints and buds with the same solution?
And that is. The potassium piece. I'm like, yeah, I think so, because then I looked up the benefits of potassium and the skin benefits are. Crazy. And, and actually I've noticed this in my own body and I never really thought about it, but I was like, oh yeah, I do, I do feel that and see that in my own body too, but like improved elasticity of the skin because it maintains the hydrated, um, like barrier of the skin better.
So you're less likely for abrasions, chafing, um, you heal faster from a skin level. Less dryness. Um, you just maintain the elastic ness and the durability of the skin barrier better when your potassium is at a healthier level. And so that was like a huge mind blowing piece for those guys, um, is like, whoa.
This is amazing because not only has it helped their shin splints a ton, but it also may be helping their bone health and it also may be helping their nervous system, which is so key. And then also it is, um, helping their skin and their chafing problem. So, such a cool supplement. I guess this was kind of a sideways podcast about potassium.
Even though I was like, this is about shin splints, it is about shin splints, but. To wrap this back into the Shin splint conversation is just, this is sometimes shin splints going back to the very beginning. Shin splints run the gamut of what is causing them, and because it runs the gamut of what is causing them, that means from a treatment standpoint, you have to be thinking about like whole organism, like all the things that could be potentially going on and.
When you have a limited time, you're kind of throwing everything at the, at it at once. And um, they can be so debilitating. And I think that's like my biggest message too, is like we need to stop saying to people like, oh, it's just shin splint. Like fuck that. They're painful, they're debilitating and they often for people are like career ending things and I don't think they have to be, but there needs to be some understanding of the complexity of all the thing that sucks.
Within the complexity of all is that you don't have a way to like truly diagnose what the problem is. But I also think that sometimes it's not just one thing, it's a, it's a multifactorial scenario that is leading to these issues. So understanding it from this complex. Standpoint helps you kind of like figure out like when to bring in the different tools and with everything you're often, often doing it at the same time.
Like worst case scenario, am I improving their general health and wellness by like getting their swelling problem under control? Absolutely. Am I helping their skin? Absolutely. Am I helping their nervous system? Absolutely. If I add plyometric training, is that gonna serve them over time? Absolutely. If we're doing deep tissue all the time, that supports the swelling piece, but also it supports the fascial health of the lower extremity, which is such an important key spot for our fascial
energy transmission. So it's like, that's helpful. There's nothing, you know, improving foot mobility like that can change the whole body. Right? As we were able to shift our center of mass more forward on our feet and get collective or reflexive core control, like everything that we could be helping them with has the potential to make a huge difference.
And so, um, it's not like your time going to be lost. And my biggest thing, and I talk about this a lot when I talk about outcomes and results, is like you should be seeing results within the first few sessions of whenever you add something new like this in. And so, um, you know, maybe for nutritional and supplements type functional medicine that might take, uh, more than three days.
I'd give that like, uh, two weeks to a month. But, um. Anything you insert, you should start to see some, like changes or something positive happening from that insertion. And if you don't, then it might not be a huge dial mover for them. And you just have to then like consider like, how much time do we really want to take in this, knowing that there's other things that we can address.
So, um, that's kind of my take home too, is that it is so complex, but. Each thing you add should make a difference. And if it doesn't, like throw it out, you don't need it. You know, that was like the tape we did. And like some of the running mechanics that we did with my athlete, was it good for him? Would, would running better help him?
Maybe in the long term? Yeah. But in the short term, it wasn't really changing shit for us. It was just adding more load onto him, which was definitely not what we needed. So. You know, it's complex and let's stop telling people. It's just, just shin splints. You're still gonna have to call it shin splints, unfortunately you can, or you can make up your own name.
Like for a while there, he really hated that I was calling it shin splints because it felt defeating to him. And so we called it something else where we called it, um, I called it deep or tibial nerve entrapment, or deep peroneal nerve entrapment, or something like that. Or I called it deep posterior compartment syndrome for a while.
Like I just gave it different names that sound more serious and then it feels better to them in the story they make about themselves and the injury in their head. Um, and then now that we're away from it, um, a bit, now we are back to calling Shin Splints and he's more okay with it. But, you know, at the end of the day, I guess it kinda was.
But not for the old school reasons that we were told. Anyways. Hope this was a helpful podcast. Um, I hate to be a potassium pusher, but life changing. Um, oh, I will leave you. I have talked about this on, I know I've talked about potassium before on the podcast, 'cause I know I've mentioned my friend Tina Hopper at Carrot and Cake.
She is who I've originally learned it from. And I did a test called the Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis, and that's what told me that I was low in potassium and, uh, led me on this path of starting to understand just the value and the minerals a little bit more. And um, so if you wanna learn more, that's a good spot too.
But we'll see you next time. Have a great day.