Are you suffering from shin splints right now? It's okay, injuries help us adjust our mindset, learn a little more about our bodies and help us comback smarter and stronger. Shin splints are the most common injury in new runners and those returning to running and endurance sports. Having coached close to 2,000 women to their first 5K and beyond, here is some helpful advice that I have gathered over the last decade of working with these eager women.
Many of the exercises include links to videos, tutorials or descriptions to help you to complete them properly at home. The exercises are also very helpful in preventing shin splints.
May be experiencing:
Pain or discomfort along the front-outside section of the leg or inner edge of the lower leg and calf muscles. Pain may radiate along the foot and ankle.
What’s going on:
This may be an overuse injury, often seen in runners and endurance athletes. May also result from improper or outdated footwear, poor form or improper technique, poor flexibility, overtraining or increase of volume (mileage) too quickly, change of surface or over-use of the same surface (treadmill), over-pronation during running.
Suggestions:
You may need a more dynamic warm-up specific to introducing the running movement to the shins and the calves.
Perfect your footstrike and make sure that you aren't striking with your heel. Instead, make sure that you are landing with the middle of the foot and rolling to your toes and then following through by kicking your heel up towards the rear with your toes pointed down. You should have a slight forward lean at the waist to allow gravity to push you forward.
Schedule a proper shoe fitting and/or purchase of new shoes
Rest from running (up to two weeks) and increase non-impact cross-training activities (elliptical, swimming, strength training)
Reduce volume significantly and embrace “movement” rather than full rest. Consider run/walk intervals (my favorites are 2 min run/1 min walk and 3 min run/2 min walk).
Vary your route and run both indoors and outdoors and on pavement and dirt. Try to run your favorite route backwards for a change in terrain.
Roll and massage bottom of foot with soup can, tennis ball or frozen water bottle (30-60 sec)
Massage calves with tennis ball, foam roller or massage gun (30-60 sec)
Increase range of motion of ankle
Ankle range of motion exercises:
Point/flex/curl toes (while seated on floor with legs fully extended)
Alphabet toes (spell the ABCs, making large capital letters)
Shin and calf exercises:
Low squats on toes – sideways against wall for support
Walk on toes (both forwards and backwards) lifting the toes towards chin
Double heel drops off of step with feet parallel, then attempt in V position (heels together/toes out), then advance to mountain position (toes together/heels out)
Hamstring salutations (challenges balance and challenges lower leg)
Walking backwards with arm raises (increases dorsiflexion)
Agility work on toes
Stretches:
Heel drops (same as the warm-up exercises but holding each side for thirty seconds)
Supine Hamstring stretches with ankle flexion and dorsiflexion
Partner-assisted shin and calf stretches (oppositional forces inward and outward) in a seated position on the floor with your legs fully extended
Split stance standing calf stretch (standing)
Prone calf stretch (kneeling)
Shin Splints Handout (PDF)
