Here, you will find stretches that can aid in the prevention or recovery of shin splints. Additionally, expert advice on prevention and recovery will be provided.
Here are seven stretches to try in order to effectively stretch out your gastrocnemius and soleus muscles, which are the large muscles located at the back of your leg running from your knee to your heel. It is important to stretch each calf muscle individually.
1. Gastrocnemius calf stretch
- Stand with your hands against a wall or on the back of a chair for support.
- Put one foot behind you. Keep your feet flat and pointed straight ahead.
- With your back heel down and back leg straight, bend the front knee until you feel a stretch in the calf of your back leg.
- Keep your back straight throughout the stretch.
- Hold the stretch for at least 30 seconds. Repeat the stretch 2 or 3 times, and aim for stretching 3 times a day.
2. Soleus calf stretch
- Stand with your hands against a wall or the back of a chair for support.
- Put one foot behind you. Keep your feet flat and pointed straight ahead.
- Bend your front knee slightly. With your back heel down, bend your back knee. If it’s too hard to keep your heel down, shorten your stride.
- Hold the stretch for at least 30 seconds. Repeat the stretch 2 or 3 times, and aim for stretching 3 times a day.
3. Achilles tendon standing stretch
- You can do this exercise standing on a stair step, a curb, a step stool, or a thick phone book. Be sure to hold onto a railing or something heavy for balance, with at least one hand.
- Stand with the balls of your feet on the edge of the stair step (or whatever you’ve chosen to use for this exercise).
- Slowly let one heel hang off the step until your feel a stretch at the back of your leg and the Achilles area.
- Hold the position for 30 seconds. Repeat 2 to 3 times, up to 5 times a day.
4. Achilles tendon seated stretch
- Sitting on the floor, bend one knee and put the other leg out in front of you, with your heel on the floor.
- Loop an exercise band, a towel, or a belt around the ball of your foot.
- Slowly pull your toe towards you and hold for 15 to 30 seconds. Repeat 2 to 4 times.
You can also perform this stretch while sitting in a chair by extending one leg and keeping your heel on the floor. Simply wrap the band or towel around your heel and gradually bring your toe closer to you by pulling it.
5. Tibialis anterior muscle stretch
This exercise involves stretching the anterior part of your tibia muscle.
- Sit on your feet, with your toes pointing slightly in, your hands on the floor in front of you.
- To increase the stretch, lean forward to raise yourself up, resting on your toes. Hold the stretch for 15 to 30 seconds.
6. Strengthening the anterior tibialis
- Sit on the floor or a bench.
- Secure an exercise band around something sturdy and loop it around the top of your foot.
- With your toes facing up, flex your ankle toward you to the count of 2. Return your ankle down to the count of 4.
- Do 10 to 20 repetitions of 2 to 3 sets daily.
7. Strengthening the gastro-soleus muscles
- Stand with your feet shoulder width apart.
- Raise your heels to the count of 2, and lower them to the count of 4.
- Make sure you’re on the tips of your toes. Use a chair or wall for support if you need it.
- Do 10 to 20 repetitions of 2 to 3 sets daily.
To increase the difficulty of the exercise, attempt to rephrase the following text while preserving its original meaning. Refrain from introducing new information and ensure that no information is omitted. For an added challenge, attempt the task while standing on one leg. Alternatively, adjust the position of your feet, either pointing them inward or outward, to target a different muscle group.
Shin splints prevention tips
We inquired with physical therapist, Jody Coluccini, who has a doctorate in physical therapy and 39 years of experience, about the measures that can be taken to avoid shin splints. Currently, she is based at Cape Cod Rehab in Massachusetts.
Footwear
Coluccini stressed the importance of footwear in preventing shin splints. According to her, if you have excessive or prolonged pronation, where your arches roll inward or downward while walking, it can put excessive stress on the posterior tibial tendon that directly attaches to the tibia.
According to Coluccini, orthotics can either be custom fit or bought over-the-counter, but it is important to have a professional assess and fit them in order to ensure comfort and correct abnormal mechanics.
In addition, she suggested selecting shoes that possess a reliable heel counter and well-padded insole to ensure excellent stability and minimize the force exerted on joints. It is advisable to acquire new footwear upon noticing indications of wear, such as uneven deterioration on the sole.
RUNNING TECHNIQUE CAUSES OF SHIN SPLINTS
Shin splints can be caused by various aspects of running technique, with some of the most common ones being:
- Too much, too soon! Beginner runners will often increase their distance and/or speed too quickly. This can lead to injury. So always build your mileage slowly and steadily. Also pushing off with the toes can put too much strain on the shins.
- Heel striking. Try not to land on the heel, with a straight leg, as this is high impact and can lead to injury.
- Downhill running. Often when going down steep hills, runners slow themselves down by landing heavily on the heels. This does have a braking effect but puts tremendous strain on the lower legs which can lead to shin splints.
- Dorsiflexing the foot. Many runners dorsiflex the foot (pull the toes towards the shin) just before they land. To do this they contract the shin muscles. Then the runner lands on the heel, immediately the rest of the foot slams down onto the ground. This pulls sharply against the contracted shin muscle. This leg action repeated on a regular basis (especially downhill) can lead to injury and inflammation around the shin.
- Running on the forefoot. Running on the fore-foot and pushing off with the toes also puts a big load on the shin and calf muscles. That’s why it’s best to land mid-foot and not push off too much as you run. Instead use a whole body lean (no bending at the waist) to move you forward.
HOW TO AVOID SHIN SPLINTS WITH RUNNING TECHNIQUE
- Natural Gait Analysis. Pop in to one of our stores with your current shoes. We’ll only suggest new shoes if that’s actually what you need!
- Work on your running technique to make it more energy efficient and less high impact:
- Relax your lower legs as much as possible.
- Land with a mid-foot strike on a bent leg under the knee.
- Try to relax the shin muscles as much as possible so that you don’t dorsi-flex the foot as you land.
- Use gravity and your core to move you forward rather than pushing off with the calf muscles. This takes the strain off the lower legs as you run.
- Build up your mileage slowly.
- Have an easy week every month when you cut back on your running and allow the body to recover.
- Compression socks worn during and post exercise really help to support the leg muscles and keep the blood flowing nicely to aid recovery.
SHIN SPLINTS EXERCISES
- Regularly stretch the calves and the Achilles to make sure they are not too tight.
- Strengthen your calf with single leg squats. See video here
- Practise core, Pilates style, exercises to balance out the body. See video here
- Practise the sandpit exercise regularly. This is when you use a sand pit at a running track etc. The aim is to walk and then run across the sand pit without heel-striking or pushing off with the toes. To succeed at this exercise you must be able to leave uniform foot prints in the sand, without any dishing at the front from pushing off or craters from heel striking. Its takes practise, but teaches you how to run with relaxed lower legs.
