How To Avoid Shin Splints
by Scott Tousignant · Filed Under: Cardio · Home Workouts
There are many great exercises and stretches that will help you avoid shin splints as well as recover from them, but today I am going to focus on a few that have helped me the most.
The first exercise to strengthen the muscles in your shins requires only a towel and a slippery surface such as laminate or ceramic flooring. Lay the towel on the floor and place the top half of your foot on the towel while you are barefoot. Use your toes to curl the towel in toward you. Repeat as often as possible. You should begin to feel a bit of a ‘burn’ in your shins.
For the second exercise, simply lay on a bed, on your tummy, with your feet just barely overhanging the mattress. Curl your feet toward you using the mattress as resistance,
Shin splints are usually a result of running, especially if you are new to running or having walked, jogged, or run in a while. It’s important to warm up prior to running. I like to roll my foot around to loosen up my ankles as well as stretch out my calve muscles.
Notice in the video that I performed the calve stretch with a straight leg and a bent leg. The straight leg stretches out the outer layer of the calve muscles (gastrocnemius) and the bent leg stretches the deeper muscle (soleus).
After a run I like to use the foam roller to massage my calves. I slowly roll along the foam roller from my ankle to the back of my knee, looking for tight or knotted areas. When I find a knotted area I hold it until the ‘mild pain’ subsides. Sometimes you will feel the muscle pulsating while you hold that knotted portion on the foam roller. That’s totally normal.
I hope that you enjoyed this short video demonstration that promotes lower leg health and how to avoid getting shin splints. If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to post them in the comment box below.
To achieving your limitless potential,
Scott Tousignant
Excellent tips, Scott! I am thankful that you took the time to help me with some of these moves while at NAMS because it’s really helped me over the last few months. Happy to say I rarely get shin pains any more, so nice! Oh and I had no clue about the foam roller but I have one so I’ll be all over that.
I absolutely LOVE those suggestions. I actually had some pain this past weekend and I’m sure if I would have been practicing these exercises and stretching properly like this, I would have avoided that pain. Thanks for the great tips!
Hey there Scott!
Long time no see. Busy elsewhere, I guess.
Anyway, I thought I’d chime in here for a moment.
When my sister and I walked a marathon a couple years ago, my sister ended up injured. The morning after the marathon, she woke with a huge bruise on her shin the size of a grapefruit. She had partially torn the muscle’s tendons that connect to the tibia. Luckily, they were minor tears, but they bled enough to cause the huge bruise – and a lot of pain.
Her mistake was starting out too fast and completing the marathon through the pain. Bad move. But, she recovered with some good physical therapy and exercises.
So… that’s where I’m leading.
Here’s a great little exercise that her doctor told her to do to prepare for her walk or run:
After preliminary stretches, take the first 5 minutes and walk on your heels. Toes up in the air, and walking on your heels. It looks goofy, but I can tell you, it works! I do that goofy walk now every time I head out on my walk. I must admit, I walk around inside my house that way for 5 minutes since I live on a busy street and don’t really want to be seen walking like that. It looks pretty strange.
My sister’s experience taught me a lot about shin splints. I always thought they were nothing more than a nuisance. It’s good to know how serious it can be.
This is actually from a printout the doctor gave her about what “shin splints” are:
“… When overworked, these muscles pull on the tibia and fibula and cause the pain associated with shin splints…. The pain known as “shin splints” is a result of fatigue and trauma to the muscle’s tendons where they attach themselves to the tibia. In an effort to keep the foot, ankle and lower leg stable, the muscles exert a great force on the tibia. This excessive force can result in the tendons being partially torn away from the bone.”
That’s why your video is so valuable, Scott. Shin splints are nothin’ to sneeze at, eh?! Thanks again for sharing your expertise with us.
GREAT !! I have suffered from shin splints most all of my life, but have not found anyone that offered great advice on getting over them or avoiding them. Can you provide more exercises to help with shin splints, and a downlodable video I can use for later reference. Again Thanks !!!
Hey there,
What I like the most in your advises Scott, is that you keep it short and sweet but very consistent in content! Very useful advises.I liked it especially the one with the towel.Ingenious and practical.
respect
Hey Scott, over the weekend I went on a 3 hour hike and guess what, I now have a severe case of shin splints on my right leg – wish you’d sent this out last week.
I’ll definitely use these exercises especially the one on the bed – since I’m usually there anyway. I know sometimes we don’t do exercises until we feel we need to do them for a specific reason but everyone should do these exercises to help strengthen these muscles and prevent shin splints – trust me, you don’t ever want to feel the annoying discomfort of shin splints.
Thanks for the video, it really helps us when you demonstrate the actual exercises so we know exactly what to do.
-Kester