Get Rid Of Shin Splints

For most people, shin splints (Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome) is that nagging, painful throbbing they experience in their lower legs during or after running, sports, or general workout routines. Many shin splints treatments simply don’t work long-term because they focus on relieving pain rather than addressing the underlying causes of shin splints. Proper treatment should focus on learning how to prevent shin splints in the first place and should address underlying causes rather than focusing solely on shin splints symptoms.

In most instances, shin splints are caused by overtraining which is compounded when you work out or run on hard surfaces because this can lead to trauma in either the muscles or bones (tibia and fibula) of the lower leg. The end result is shin splint pain.

We all know shin splints hurt. There's no denying that. In fact, some people describe it as a "toothache-like" pain that persists in your lower leg and never seems to go away without ample rest. But when your team is counting on you or you're doing your best to get fit and stay in shape, you don't have time to miss workouts for weeks or sometimes even months at a time.

So what other options do you have if you want to get rid of shin splints? Personal trainer, Gary Buchenic, offers up some great tips in his best selling shin splints treatment guide, “Stop Shin Splints Forever” where he identifies a simple 3 step method anyone can use to get shin splint pain relief.

Learning how to prevent shin splints before they ever occur is one of the best ways to ensure you’ll always be able to get through your workouts at peak performance. But before we get into a few shin splints treatment tips, let’s discuss a couple other shin splints causes.

Clearly, overtraining and running on hard surfaces can’t be the only causes of shin splints. After all, some people seem to get shin splints no matter what they do while others do extremely strenuous workouts day in and day out on hard surfaces and never seem to have a problem.

The reason for this is biomechanical inefficiencies (flat feet), over-pronation, weak leg muscles, and imbalances between the posterior and anterior leg can also cause shin splints and shin splint pain.

Here are 6 terrific shin splints treatment tips to help you prevent MTSS from occurring before, during, and after your workouts.

• Always warm up your muscles before working out. You should always take time to perform shin splints stretches and exercises and go for a brisk walk or jog before beginning your main workout.

• Shoes matter. Always make sure your footwear is in good condition. There should be enough padding to help absorb the shock of running, and they should fit properly so they don’t cause any unnecessary trauma to the foot and leg. If they are worn out or don’t fit right, then replace them and get new shoes on a regular basis.

• Workouts don’t have to be long and strenuous to see results. To prevent shin splints, don’t over do it. Overtraining can do more harm than good.

• Don’t forget the importance of the cool down period. Cool down and stretch after your workout in the same manner you did before you began.

• If you think flat feet might be the reason you experience shin splints, then check into getting some orthopedics specially designed for you. For some people, this is all that is needed to treat shin splints.

• Compression sleeves can be beneficial as they help provide more support to the muscles of your lower legs. This makes your leg muscles more resistant to trauma and stronger to take on longer, more strenuous workouts.

To relieve shin splint pain, the most prescribed remedy is ice, rest, and an anti-inflammatory. However, this type of shin splint treatment only focuses on relieving the pain, but does not cure the underlying causes of your shin splints.

Prevention and following the tips outlined in “Stop Shin Splints Forever” is always the best solution if you truly want to get rid of shin splints permanently and keep them from coming back.

For information to help you alleviate your lower leg pain including alternative shin splints treatments and special exercises so you can get rid of shin splints for good, visit: Shin Splints Treatment

Biomechanical Inefficiencies That Can Cause Shin Splints

In our last post, we looked at some of the causes of shin splints related to overtraining and overworking the lower leg muscles.  It’s important to understand that running itself is not the problem.   Rather, its the shock force associated with repeated landings and changes of directions that can overload the muscles and tendons in the lower leg.  This in turn makes them weak and they are no longer able to absorb the shock.  The result is painful shin splints.

To get rid of shin splints, it’s also important to understand the biomechanical causes of shin splints.  In his ebook, “Stop Shin Splints Forever“, personal trainer, Gary Buchenic, discusses shin splints in detail and offers a 3-step shin splints treatment method for eliminating lower leg pain.

Two major biomechanical causes of shin splints are flat feet and over-pronation which often go hand in hand.  Over-pronation occurs when the feet roll inward too much after striking the ground during normal motion.

When the heel strikes the ground during normal motion, the foot rolls inward and flattens out.  However, if the foot rolls inward too much, then over-pronation occurs.  The excessive rolling twists the tibia which puts strain and stress on the muscles and tendons in the lower leg.

If you want to prevent shin splints during running and exercise, then it is important to maintain good running mechanics to keep from leaning too far forward, too far back, or landing on the balls of your feet.  Equally as important is maintaining a proper stretching regimen to help prevent tight and/or stiff muscles in the lower leg.

For additional information, including alternative shin splints treatments and special exercises, to help you alleviate your lower leg pain so you can get rid of shin splints for good, try: Stop Shin Splints Forever

What Causes Shin Splints?

If you want to be able to get rid of shin splints, then it’s important to identify what’s causing them in the first place.

The pain you experience with shin splints is caused by either trauma to the muscles or trauma to the bones of the lower leg.  With that being said, what actually causes the trauma?

Many times the trauma can be attributed to excessive training which overworks the muscles.  Shin splints are a common problem for runners because of additional trauma which can be caused by running on hard surfaces.  With excessive pounding of the leg on hard surfaces, muscles swell and become painful.

The resulting trauma may also result in microscopic fractures in the lower leg bones (tibia and fibula).  In order for the cracks to heal, adequate rest is required.  Otherwise, the cracks can continue to grow and will become more and more painful to the point of keeping you from working out at all.

Another cause of shin splints is poor performance running shoes and running on slanted surfaces.  Without adequate padding and support, high impact running becomes more stressful on the muscles and bones in the lower leg.  Beginning runners should take extra caution since their legs will be less accustomed to the additional stress and shin splints can develop more easily.

Shin splints may also develop more easily when there is an imbalance between the muscles of the posterior and anterior leg.  To get rid of shin splints caused by this imbalance, special exercise routines should be undertaken.

There are also biomechanical inefficiencies which can cause shin splints.  These will be discussed in a future post along with shin splints treatment methods.

For information to help you alleviate the pain and get rid of shin splints for good, visit: Shin Splints Symptoms And Treatment.

How Do You Know If You’re Suffering From Shin Splints?

Knowing whether or not you’re experiencing shin splints is a fairly straightforward and easy diagnosis.  If you’re an athlete or spend a lot of time exercising and running, then you’re a top candidate for medial tibial stress syndrome (shin splints).  During or after your workout you may notice shin splints symptoms such as:

*Tenderness and/or pain around the outer/front part of your lower leg (anterior shin splints).  Pain may also occur on the back/inside portion of the lower leg (posterior medial shin splints).

*Soreness of the tibia (the bone connecting your knee to your ankle bones)

*Mild swelling in your lower leg

*Pain at the beginning of your workout which seems to subside, but then returns when you stop

*Increased pain when running on hard surfaces

*Increased pain when jumping or going up and/or down hills

Since shin splints are generally an “overuse injury”, you can alleviate some of the pain through rest and by icing the painful area. Over the counter pain relievers may also be taken. However, if the pain continues and reoccurs on a regular basis or if you experience severe pain, extreme inflammation, or reoccurring pain even after days of rest, then you should consult a medical professional.

What are shin splints?

Shin splints is a general term used to describe medial tibial stress syndrome (MTSS) which results in painful inflammation of the muscles around the shins.  They are generally classified as “overuse injuries”.

This is a common occurrence among runners, soccer players, sprinters, dancers, and jumpers such as basketball and volleyball players who regularly put stress on this area of their body.  Regular stress overworks the shinbone (tibia) and the connective tissues connecting the muscle to the bone which results in pain.

If you suffer from shin splints, you know they can be extremely painful and slow to heal.  However, there’s no reason to give up your athletic career.  Ice and rest can help alleviate most cases, but this generally just masks the symptoms.  It doesn’t actually fix the problem.

Modifying your exercise routine and making other changes is often required to keep them from recurring.

Learn more about getting rid of shin splints: Shin Splints Treatment

This blog is focused on providing information to help you get rid of shin splints.  Discover the causes, symptoms, and shin splint treatment methods available to help you alleviate your lower leg pain.

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