What are your most effective exercies to prevent shin splints?

There are no shortage of posts attempting to explain why part of the front lower leg is hurting but not nearly as many that I can find explaining effective exercises to help prevent the pain from occurring in the first place.  By 'shin splint' I mean the tingling or sometimes outright pain you get on your front 'anterior' lower leg 'tibia' normally after running longer or faster that you have previously trained before.

So let's assume for the sake of this discussion that you have NOT recently changed shoes, you have seen a shoe expert and your running shoes actually support the way you run and you do not have any kind of stress bone fracture.  You recently increased your distance, changed terrain or increased your speed and now are experiencing shin pain.

I talked to several long-time runners and have received the following exercise advice based on the assumption that the calves are too tight and shin muscle (anterior tibial), ligaments or helper stabilizing micro-stabilizing muscles were irritated by overuse:

• Shin Muscle (tibialis anterier):
• while sitting do repeated foot up raises
• walk around the house on your heels in low cushion shoes
• draw letters in carpet/sand with your toes
• job slowly with your toes pointed in, then out
• sit on your knees with toes pointed behind you and slowly put pressure on the front of your ankle/shin to flatten out on floor.
• Calf Muscle (gastrocnemius / soleus)
• have sports masseur melt any knots you may have in soleus junction or main gastroc muscle
• stand in front of wall with one leg behind you slowly move your upper body toward wall and stretching out calf.
• on curb facing sidewalk, slowly dip one foot and stretch out calf/Achilles.
• foam roll calf muscle

What exercises do you do to prevent shin splints?


Some References:
What is the Shin Muscle?
How to get rid of Shin Splints

Inaugural Foster City 10-miler Jan 12, 2013

Race Director Gene said about 500 registered for both 10miler/5K races and up until 10 min before the horn blew there was no one at the start! Then, out of the woodwork they came and man we're talking some elite runners up front!

Training and Recovery : "...Get a massage once per month..."

I'm not sure if you've heard or read this often said bit of sage advice before to '...get a massage once per month...' but I'm here to tell you there is a reason you've heard or read it before.



I was one of those that avoids 'massage' places because I don't really like the whole 'pampered' experience and thought "What has a massage got to do with running?" or "If I need a massage I'll massage myself'.  Well, you can give yourself a massage in fact you should routinely roll using your hard form roller, tennis ball or whatever you've found as a part of your post workaround routine to relax those muscles.  However, there is a subtle difference in having the right external person do it who is an experienced 'sports' masseuse, listens to you, can melt away knots and other things that is just very difficult to do yourself.

I went for the first time as per advice from an experienced running friend and suffered through all the pampering till my masseuse got down to the good stuff.  I won't lie and tell you there was no pain; especially, as he found those knots in my soleus.  However, after each knot melted and as the entire muscle was relaxed via hot oil and towels I found a new level of relaxed muscles I have not felt before.  The extra work on my foot arches, behind the knee and shoulders I'm sure contributed to the total relaxed sense of feeling.

It has been two weeks since I ran my last full marathon and even though I felt I was mostly recovered from the run I know now after having been to the sports massage specialist that I wasn't.  We counted at least four tender places around the soleus that I'm working on and will get another maintenance tuneup next month but was tremendous feedback to have and sure made my following 5 mile fun run actually fun.

If you consult your fellow running friends and find the right sports masseuse for you then I think a monthly massage is yet another positive tool at your disposal to help maintain good running form and hopefully keep running pain-free for years to come.