How to stretch your shins?

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color_me_skinny
color_me_skinny Posts: 106
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm noticing that with certain work outs, my shins are feeling a little pain. I've heard of "shin splints" but not exactly sure what it is other then its not good. So how can I stretch my shins, or warm them up so they wont get hurt?

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  • ngoat
    ngoat Posts: 97 Member
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    bump
  • merrillfoster
    merrillfoster Posts: 855 Member
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    I have the same problem. Bump!
  • Imthatg1rl
    Imthatg1rl Posts: 109
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    There is a yoga pose called "hero's pose" it's fantastic :)
    here is a description
    http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/490
  • Kath712
    Kath712 Posts: 1,263 Member
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    Hoping to see replies on this!
  • jeffrodgers1
    jeffrodgers1 Posts: 991 Member
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    http://foothealth.about.com/od/exercisefeet/ss/ShinSplintExerc.htm
  • poustotah
    poustotah Posts: 1,121 Member
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    Potassium will help with shin splints as well as general overall soreness. It will also help to use the treadmill a little more or to continue to use it if that's the cause.
  • skinnylizzard
    skinnylizzard Posts: 460 Member
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    I use the stairs and do a regular calve stretch but with bent knees.
  • Thunderella05
    Thunderella05 Posts: 21
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    Make the letters of the alphabet using your toes in the air.
  • toots99
    toots99 Posts: 3,794 Member
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    To help relieve the pain, massage the shins along the very outside of the bone from ankle to knee, as deeply with your fingertips as you could without it hurting. You can also wrap an ace bandage around the shin, that should help relieve pain also.
  • knittnponder
    knittnponder Posts: 1,954 Member
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    Keep your calves nicely stretched out and that will help.

    Stand on one foot with the other slightly raised off the floor. Point and flex the foot repeatedly 10-15 times.

    Foot Circles: Rotate the toe clockwise 10-20 times, switch directions and rotate another 10-20 times. Later you can switch to "writing" the alphabet in the air with the toe of your foot.

    Repeat for both legs.

    To strengthen the calves you can do heel raises (stand flat foot then raise up onto your toes. Repeat 10-15 times. Do this exercise with the heels parallel, a set with them angled out and a set with them angled inward.)

    You can also get into a lunge position and do heel raises in a lunge. Just make sure you keep your knee over your ankle and don't allow your knee to track over your toes as this adds too much strain to the knee.

    Stretch before and after your workouts! When they feel tight, stretch gently! You can massage them and then stretch them. Stretching them in the shower also feels really good.

    Shin splints are my nemesis!
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    Unless you are running on hard, flat surfaces with poor foot cushioning (i.e. the wrong shoes), you probably don't have shin splints. I had them in high school from doing gymnastics (we'd run the vault in bare feet on a cement floor) and they are pretty painful, all of the time, not just at the beginning of working out.

    I get the same pain that you're talking about when I first start walking on the treadmill (if I don't stretch first) and it goes away after the first 5-10 minutes. Stretching your legs with your toes pointed straight up (not pointed out) is usually good for this. If you can, sit on the floor, with your legs together straight in front of you and your heels on the ground and grab your toes with your hands. Lean forward (slowly!) while pulling your toes slightly towards you. The goal is to eventually be able to touch your nose to your legs without bending your knees but not everyone is that flexible. If you can't reach your toes with your hands, use a towel or a resistance band until you can, but don't bend your knees or you won't be stretching the right muscles.

    Good luck!
  • mwilson57
    mwilson57 Posts: 78 Member
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    I get them too, but only in my right leg. Thank you for posting the question and thank you to those who gave advice!
  • mishelnkiki
    mishelnkiki Posts: 775 Member
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    omgosh i get these soooo bad!! and it isnt even neccessarily on the front part of the shin, but the sides of them on BOTH legs. its a terrible feeling!!! i found that certain yoga poses do tend to help, and sometimes if i eat a banana right before i do my workouts that i know will cause discomfort its not usually as bad. best of luck to ya!
  • cheangela
    cheangela Posts: 173
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    There are a few great ways to combat this issue. Prior to working out, warm up the region... stand on one foot, place the toes of your other foot on the ground, make wide controlled circles with your heel for 30 seconds. Make sure you keep your toes in the same spot while you make the heel circles. Repeat in opposite direction and with your other foot. Do a standard calf stretch, put your forefoot against a wall and slowly lean into the stretch with straight leg. Hold the stretch for a 12 count, release, repeat 3 times. Then, strech the front of your leg using these instructions - http://walking.about.com/od/stretching/a/shinstretch.htm.

    When you find yourself sitting, you can also work this region by writing out the alphabet with your toes. It really helps!

    Keep in mind, sometimes shin splints are misdiagnosed. What you could be experiencing is a tight IT band. When your IT band is having issues, it could tug on your patella just enough to make it rub on and irritate your tibia. So if you find your shin splints primarily kicking in within 3 inches of the knee, you might want to Google some good IT band stretches. There are some really helpful videos on this toping on RunnersWorld.com.

    Good luck and happy sweating!
  • arodriguez24
    arodriguez24 Posts: 81 Member
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    if you sit down and put one leg in the air and then move your foot in and out and also rotate it, then switch legs. I think this work for both calves and shins.
  • mlwestlake
    mlwestlake Posts: 19 Member
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    I'm thinking maybe your shoes need replacing. Also, downhill running can make the shins hurt because of the slapping motion that the foot makes. Just a thought <3
  • frmeital
    frmeital Posts: 36
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    This article has a video that shows a very helpful stretch for shin splints, here it is and I hope it helps:

    http://www.squidoo.com/shin-splints-treatment-for-athletes

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