Injuries are very painful especially leg injuries. But instead of going for medication, if you go for stretches for the painful area, it is going to be more helpful. People get worried when they feel such pain. But shin splint is curable without medication too. Only you need to take a few precautions and regularly do the stretching for lowering the pain.
If during the post-run you are experiencing pain in your legs and lower half of your legs it means you are going through Shin splints. In medical it is also termed as tibial stress syndrome. The pain of Shin splints is felt along with the Shinbone and front of the leg. The pain is noticed in the front area between the ankle and knee.
This article is about the warm up exercises to avoid Shin splints, how to reduce the pain through stretches for shin splints, and other points that must be considered for avoiding shin splints.
What is Shin splint?
Shin splint is an overuse injury. It can result from doing activities of high impact or running for longer periods of time without doing proper warm up stretching. You may find this injury common in
- Athletes
- Professional dancers
- Military men
- Marathon runners
Warm up exercises to avoid Shin splints:
Air Squats:
- Keep your feet hip-distance apart and stand.
- Start loading into a squad lower your hips back and down while keeping the weight on your heels and bending the knees with chest up.
- Stand back again.
- Repeat 10 times.
Hip rotations:
- While standing start bringing one of your knees towards the chest while grabbing the shin with hands.
- Start taking big hip circles to the front and then to the back.
- Switch to the other leg with the same procedure.
- Repeat 10 times with each leg.
Calf raise:
- Stand with feet hip apart in width.
- Stand on your tiptoes by raising your heels.
- Slowly start lowering your Heels down.
- Repeat 8 to 10 times.
Lunges:
- Stand with feet together.
- Put your right foot out so that the distance between the feet is hip-width apart.
- While keeping one leg straight bend your other Knee and push your hip back.
- Hold for a second then switch to the other leg and repeat the procedure.
- Repeat with both legs for 5 times.
Stretches for reducing the Shin splint:
The following stretches shall be helpful in relieving the pain of Shin splint. If you feel that you are going through shin splint then perform the following stretches daily. Keep in mind if you find the stretches painful don’t perform them. Instead, visit a doctor for better treatment.
Foam rolling:
A foam roller helps in alleviating the pain and reducing the inflammation.
- While keeping the foam underneath your chest on the floor, begin with your knees and hands.
- While drawing the right knee towards the face carefully place the shin on the foam roller.
- Slowly start rolling up and down the Shin. Keep your left leg firm on the ground for controlling the pressure.
- Once you find the painful spot extend the ankle before continuing.
- Can be repeated with both legs, if required.
Gastrocnemius muscle stretch:
- Stand against a wall or a door for pushing purpose.
- Place your hands on the wall.
- Take a foot back while keeping your legs straight. Bend the front knee and keep both feet floor on the floor.
- For feeling Stretch in the calf muscle, lean the torsos forward. If you want to feel more stretch, then take your straight leg slightly back.
- Keep holding for 20 seconds and repeat three times.
- Legs can be switched if required.
Soleus muscle stretch:
- Stand facing a closed door or a wall.
- Place your hands on the wall
- Slightly take your one foot behind the other foot.
- Squat down slowly while bending both knees until you feel the stretch. Make sure both the feet are on the floor while bending.
- Repeat 3 times while holding for 30 seconds.
- If required, legs can be switched.
Seated shin stretch:
This stretch is helpful for relieving the pain in the back of the lower leg in the Shin area.
- Start with the kneeling position.
- While bringing your heels beneath the gluteus, Sit down gently and bring the knees in front of you.
- While leaning back slightly place the hands on the floor.
- For feeling the stretch, while using the bodyweight push down on the heels.
- For increasing the pressure slightly lift the knees off the ground.
- Repeat 3 times while holding for 30 seconds.
These stretches are helpful in relieving the Shin splint pain. You can perform the warm-up stretches for relieving the pain as well.
Tips helpful in avoiding shin splint:
- Consider the shoes you use for running. Always look for guides and features while choosing running shoes for shin splints.
- Use of supplements for calcium and Vitamin D supports your bones and muscles against shin splint.
- Shorten your stride and make sure your foot hits the ground and remain right under your center of gravity. This helps in decreasing the stress on your knees, ankles, and feet.
- Build your mileage slowly so that your legs don’t go under pressure quickly as this may result in injury.
Shin splint is very painful. If you focus on the things that can prevent shin splint, for example, choosing the right running shoes, you can avoid this painful injury. Warm up exercises are very helpful to your muscles and if performed regularly, then the chances of any injury reduce drastically. Shin splints can be trouble, but if you perform the above-mentioned stretches you might not need any medication.
Author bio:
Ben Cummins is a fitness writer. He has been writing about fitness for multiple websites since 2011. he has completed his post-graduation in Bachelors of Science. You may find him on different fitness websites. Currently Ben owns The Shoefitpro.com.