Shin splints are an injury that occurs on the lower front inside portion of the shin bone called the "tibia." This is often times known medically as "medial tibial traction periostitis" and it comes with symptoms like pain in the lower area of the shin, pain when exercise has begun, pain when the feet and toes are bent downward and occasional bumps on the shin. When it comes to beginning runners, there are several ways to prevent them from happening.
Step 1
Get fitted with the right running shoes at a quality sporting goods store. If your shoes are uncomfortable and your foot turns in or out when you run, then you are prone to develop shin splints. Make sure you have properly fitting shoes that have good shock absorption and feel comfortable on your feet.
Step 2
Increase your load gradually. If you start out running high amounts of miles and you increase your miles a lot each week, you can put too much stress on your muscles and develop shin splints. Only increase your miles each week by 10 percent.
Step 3
Stretch it out. Really tight calf muscles can lead to shin splints. To avoid this, make sure to stretch out the soleus and gastrocnemius regularly. These are the two parts of the calves. To stretch the gastrocnemius, place your hands against a wall with your feet about 2 feet away. Keep your legs straight and lean forward until you feel a stretch on your upper calves. To stretch the soleus, do the same thing except bend your knees slightly.
Step 4
Watch where you run. When you go for runs, try to avoid uneven surfaces like trails where you are constantly running on stumps and rocks. Also, limit your runs on hard surfaces like blacktop. These surfaces cause too much shock to the leg muscles.
Step 5
Do an adequate warm-up. If you start an exercise routine with tight muscles, not only are you risking damage to them, but you are also risking the development of shin splints. Do a 5 to 10 minute warm-up before you go for runs. Do some dynamic stretches like walking lunges, high knees, side steps and front kicks.
Step 6
Strengthen the fronts of your shins. The muscles that run down the front of the shins are called the "tibialis anterior" muscles. To help prevent shin splints, do some specific exercises to strengthen these muscles. An example would be heel walks. Lift your toes off the floor and walk across the room on your heels. You can also do step-downs on a single step the same way.
