Shin splints
Do you suffer from shin splints?
Want to know how to get rid of them?
Read on.
If you’ve had shin splints, you know they are painful. As the warmer months approach, more people will be running outside again, so we want to help you prevent and treat your shin splints!!
·
Shin splints are an overuse injury of the muscles, tendons, and bone tissue on the front of the lower leg. The muscle on the front/outer part of the shin, aka the tibialis anterior, lifts the foot so it doesn’t drag on the ground as your swing your leg in front of you to step, and it also controls the foot from slapping down on the ground as your heel makes contacts the ground when stepping.
·
Shin splints result in pain and sometimes swelling from increasing load too quickly, “too much, too fast”. Maybe you went from (literally) the couch to running a 5k - and now your shins hurt. The muscles in the area are strained from all of that increased stress, and it can happens to runners or people starting to walk or run for exercise.
·
In general, if you increase the duration, frequency, or intensity of your exercise, you are more at risk for this injury. Running on uneven terrain is another risk factor. Additionally, choosing the wrong running/walking shoes for you can also put you more at risk. We highly recommend going to a store where they assess your gait and the arches of your foot to choose a shoe that fits you best!
·
So now to prevent/treat these pesky shin splints. On your own, you can first do a few things: modify your exercise or activity by decreasing your volume/intensity and gradually building it up in small increments, getting a shoe that works best for your feet, and working on landing with a more flat foot or forefoot strike when running instead of heel strike.
·
Next we need to strengthen these muscles around the shin! This is where our video content comes in. We show you a multitude of different exercise to start increasing the strength and load that your shins can take so that they can tolerate more in the future!
First up are static holds. Start with two feet up at a time, then you can progress to doing one foot at a time.
Next are heel walks.
Then we progress to toe raises off a step. We can start with two feet, then progress to one.
Finally, we can perform slow repeated steps forwards with controlled lowering of the foot. We can increase the load by doing a forward hop (simulating a run) with controlled lowering of the foot.
·
If your shin splints are still bothering you, we use a multi-dimensional approach in our office to treat them. First, we restore motion of the joints with adjustments, address the muscles and inflammation with soft tissue work and/or dry needling, and correct your movement patterns with functional rehabilitation.
