Shin Splints

Since many of you have moved your walks and runs from sidewalks and trails to the treadmill, you have ended up with a case of shin splints. These occur when you overstress the muscles in your lower legs, causing small tears in the tissue. If you start to experience this pain, it's not a serious injury, but it is also nothing to be ignored. To heal the tears, it's best to lower the intensity of your run by walking instead, or add incline to the treadmill. If the pain is really bad, take a break from running and do some lower leg stretches and ice the area.

Since shin splints can happen when your calf muscles become stronger than the shin muscles, and a way to promote healing in the area, and to prevent shin splints in the first place, is to do some strengthening exercises. Heel walks are great, but to see one of my favorite exercises you can do while sitting read more

When running on a treadmill, I believe you should keep the incline set to at least one percent. The added incline helps make up for the lack of environmental resistance indoors, such as wind, making your workout a little tougher. Another reason to set your treadmill incline to at least one percent is to avoid every runner's nemesis, shin splints. Running downhill can create shin splints due to the extra stress placed on the shin bone. A zero incline on a treadmill can mimic a slight downgrade; a negative incline, if you will. To avoid this problem, run with at least some incline when on a treadmill.

Fit's Tip: If you have recently increased your mileage on a treadmill, say because of the shortened days due to the seasons changing, be careful. A treadmill surface is constantly the same whereas roads and trails vary, even when they are flat. On a treadmill every stride is the same, which can lead to overuse/repetitive injuries like shin splints.

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One of the dreaded side affects from starting a new walking or running routine is shin splints. The pain down the outside of your lower leg may be caused by a variety of issues, but the calf muscle tends to get stronger before the muscles on the front of the shin. While stretching the calves is intuitive post run, strengthening the opposing muscles on the front of the shin is not. A simple exercise to do just that is heel walks.

The exercise name describes the action quite well. Walk about 20 yards on your heels with toes lifted off the ground. Take small steps and keep your toes, even though they are up off the ground, pointed forward (don't let your toes rotate outward). You can do this exercise barefoot or in your sneakers.

Fit's Tip: This is a great exercise to incorporate into your dynamic warm-up.

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If you run, chances are you have suffered through shin splints and it is no fun. There’s the physical pain to contend with as well as the pain of having to take time off when you are on a roll. To prevent as well as treat shin splints you need to do two things – stretch and strengthen the area. Here’s what you do.

• Stretch: Keep your calves, feet and ankles flexible. Stretch them daily, even if you don't run that day.
• Strengthen: To strengthen your shin muscles, lean your back against a wall with your feet flat on the floor, 8 to 10 inches from the wall and lift toes up towards shins and slowly lower down. This works the shins and calves. RunnerGirl.com cautions that you never do this strengthening exercise before you walk or run. The best time to do it: after your workout or just before bed.

Fit's Tip: If you are training for a long race and starting to increase your mileage, do this exercise. Most injuries occur when the weekly mileage starts to increase. Take care of your shins and they will take care of you.

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If you've ever experienced shin splints then you know they are no fun and can really put a damper on your running schedule. The good news is that they aren't usually serious. The bad news is that when it comes to healing them, time is the best medicine. Here are some good tips on dealing with shin splints:

• Most shin splints will benefit from plenty of rest. You should not exercise for at least a week, and take a break of at least two-to-four weeks from running.
• Ice the injury for 20 minutes, at least twice a day. (I like to use the Cryocup.)
• Use over-the-counter pain relievers to ease discomfort.
• For stress fractures, diagnosed by a doctor, at least a month's rest is required. You should not run or exercise during that time.

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Chances are, if you are a runner, you've experienced the pain of shin splints. It basically refers to the condition called Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome (MTSS).

When you overwork the muscles in the shin, the muscles exert a great amount of force on the shin bones (tibia and fibula) to keep your foot, ankle, and lower leg stable. This excessive force can partially tear the tendons away from the bone (the tibia, which is the one on the inside of your leg). Shin splints aren't caused by running, but rather by the impact force associated with it.

Here are some tips to prevent shin splints.

• Before going out for a run, warm up and do some gentle calf stretches, which will prevent injury.
• If you are new to running, start off slowly. Too much too soon will cause shin splints or other injuries.
• Along the same lines, if you've taken a break from running, gradually work your way up to where you were.

There's plenty more tips, so read more

While surfing the web I came across some stories I thought you all would find interesting and informative - or just plain cool. Check out the links below and let me know what you think.

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Complete Running gives you the skinny on shin splints.

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