Shin splints

Well shin splints suck major ass so i am going to explain what may cause it and how to maybe avoid them. I used to get them all the time until i learned a few exercises to strengthen my lower legs. so here goes hope it helps
A shin splint is pain on the medial 9inside) or front of the shin that occurs during running. Such pains result from increasing run mileage to quickly. the medial variety is the most common. Shin splints occur usually in one leg at a time and most likely it will be your dominant leg.
Medial shin splints are generally associated with imbalances in the muscles of the lower leg and anterior shin splints are generally associated with overpronation.

the best way to treat a shin splint is obviously reducing the distance of your run or stop running but if you are a fighter you cant really do that so why not try to avoid them in the first place.

To help avoid shin splints-
Stretch calf muscles before each run and during the day even when you are not running.
there are also some exercises that are easy to perform and dont take alot of time-
Toe Dip
Stand on a block or sturdy box with your heels supported and your forefeet hanging over the edge. Hold onto to a wall for support. Lower your toes toward the floor as far as comfortably possible and then lift them again. Repeat for 30 seconds.

Pillow balancing
Place a pillow on the floor and balance on it with one shoeless foot for 30 seconds, and then balance onthe other foot, then repeat. At first it can be difficult to last 30 seconds, but you will quickly improve. Keep it challenging by using a bigger or softer pillow, by stacking pillows and or balancing longer.

Towel scrunch
Sit in a chair with your feet flat on the floor and a towel laid out just in front of your toes. use the toes of both feet to pull (or scrunch) the towel underneath your feet bit by bit. Pull once witht he left foot, then once with the right foot and continue. this is much easier on a wood or tile floor than a carpetted one. i do it in my kitchen.

Picking up marbles
sit in a chair and use the toes of both feet to repeatedly pick up marbles from the floor and drop them down again. Id o this for a few minutes at a time to entertain my daughter who says i have monkey feet lol

Tracing the alphabet
while sitting in a chair, lift your left foot a few inches above the floor and trace each letter of the alphabet in the air, as though your big toe was a piece of chalk. After you trace Z switch and repeat with right foot.

The exercises above will strengthn the muscles in your foot as well as the muscles in your shin.

 

Good info thanks. I had ankle surgery a few months ago....and will be getting back into running soon....hopefully. I'll start doing these now to help my shins.

 

Yeah i learned these from my brother in law who is a physical therapist/personel trainer

 

Awesome stuff Boomstick.

Also I think running on softer surfaces can help prevent it if you have a track or field near you.

 

the above is correct. a guy i wrestled with would get these often since he was so lean i guess. he ran in the grass and all was good. we had a hard paved track btw, which is a POS to run on in any case. impact = bad.

 

I wish you posted this thread before I got shinsplits. Haha

 

Well, I would like to add my $.02.

I have stated on here many times the benefits of running barefoot, almost all of my running is done barefoot, execpt for when I do sprint work on the track or run stairs. The reason I do this is to strengthen the foot and ankle and to reduce injuries.

Most people think running barefoot will increase impact stress, this is comletely wrong. As shown here in this study

"Analysis of force characteristics showed for the vertical passive peak after touchdown lower values in barefoot running compared to shoe and insole conditions."

(Warning .pdf document)

Analysis of Gait and Responses to Insoles in Heatlhy Runners and Runners with Achilles Tendinitis

This is mostly due to the fact that shoes compensate for bad form. As pointed out here in this study.

"Chronic ailments such as shin splints, ilio-tibial band syndrome and peri-patellar pain are
attributed variously to excessive pronation, supination, and shock loading of the limbs
(Siff and Verkhoshansky, 1999, p.451). When running barefoot on hard surfaces, the
runner compensates for the lack of cushioning underfoot by plantar-flexing the foot at
contact, thus giving a softer landing (Frederick, 1986). Barefoot runners also land mid-
foot, increasing the work of the foot's soft tissue support structures, thereby increasing
their strength and possibly reducing the risk of injury (Yessis 2000, p.124).

(Warning .pdf document)

Barefoot Running

Also, pointed out in that study is that expensive footwear usually leads to more injuries, because they just usually add more cushioning in the heel region, which just lets people run farther without their feet hurting, yet puting excessive stress on their legs.

Here, are some exercpts from another study

Running-related injury prevention through barefoot adaptations


And this is from Nike, itself

"Nike has been hearing about coaches and trainers that encourage their athletes to run barefoot. So, nearly two years ago, some of our scientists began to do a little sole searching.Tobie Hatfield and Eric Avar work in Nike's top-secret arm of Research and Development. When they caught wind of the resurgence in barefoot training, they called former Stanford University Head Track Coach Vin Lanana