Running - avoiding shin splints.

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Babicam
Babicam Posts: 21 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have been running several times (at least 3 times) per week for the last few weeks. What is the best way to prevent shin splints?

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  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    Properly fitted shoes, proper form (not heel striking), rest days, exercise to strengthen shin muscles.
  • nls108
    nls108 Posts: 3
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    One of the best things I've found is in "3 Minutes to a Pain-Free Life" by Dr. Joseph Weisberg. His Therapeutic Move for Shin Splits is to take off your shoes , kneel on the floor so that the tops of your feet touch it, and gently sit back on your heels. Hold for 30 seconds.

    For Racewalking, and probably for running too, a preventive is to do foot flexions and rotations as part of your warm-up. That is, with your feet bare, flex your feet up as far as you can and down as far as you can. Then "rotate" by drawing circles with your toes, both right and left. If I don't do those, my shins bother me for sure.
  • surf_girl
    surf_girl Posts: 1 Member
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    Also, running on different types of surfaces can cause them.
  • SarahAFerguson
    SarahAFerguson Posts: 250 Member
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    I get soar shins just from walking more than a half hour at a time. I've tried the toe flexing and rotations and they do help a lot.

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