Equipment needed: foam roller / lacrosse ball
In this episode of our mobility series we are taking a look at the pathology that most distance runners live in fear of - Shin Splints. Shin Splints is known as the pain in the anterior (front) portion of your tibia (lower leg/shin). It is believed to be caused by repetitive stress of running. The impact of running can have a detrimental effect on the musculature, connective tissue and joints in and around the shin.The breakdown of the tissue can be hard to correct without the right mobility techniques. However Shin Splints is a universal term for shin pain, other conditions such as compartment syndrome (muscular swelling in shin) and stress fractures (microscopic fractures of shin bone) fall under the shin splints umbrella.
At NRG we have two go to mobility exercises we go to when addressing the on going issue that is shin splints:
- Shin Kneeling: This is simple as it sounds, start on all fours to begin with, set your knees to hip width apart, with the top of your feet flat on the floor. Simply when you are ready, you are going to push your bum onto your heels and push pressure down through the heels (see image 1 below). The added weight you are providing, will add a stretch down the front of the shin and the muscle which attaches it (tibialis anterior). If that is too easy, try and lift one of your knees up with your hands to intensify the stretch on the shin and top of the foot.
Timings: this can be quite sore so 3 sets of 30 second holds and build up as it gets more bearable.
Image 1: Make stretch more intense by pulling up on feet as shown
- Tibialis Anterior Rolling: After elongating the muscular tissue structures, we are now going to massage the area by foam rolling. When foam rolling, treat the area like a massage, so start with quick short rolls to encourage blood flow to the area, before slowing down and increasing pressure over the muscle. This is to help iron out any adhesions or bumps you may have across the musculature. Start with both shins (just below the knee) resting on the foam roller, feet elevated with your hands on the floor for support (See image 2). Now by shifting your weight back and forth, you will move the shins up and down the foam roller. If you can, try and rotate the feet as well to add a different stretch to the shins or do one shin at a time to increase weight through the affected area.
Timings: at least 3 minutes of rolling, 1 min of quick rolling followed by 2 mins of slower, increased pressure rolling.
Image 2: Starting with just below the knee on the roller, pull your knees towards you so the roller moves down the front aspect of the shin
Shin Splints can take a long time to build up so will take a long time to cure, however with good pain management techniques such as mobility, using anti inflammatory drugs and sensible running training, you will be back to good in no time. This concludes our Shin Splints post, we will return in the future to discuss different ways to tackle the issue and potential reasons why you might be getting them!
Have any issues or questions you want answering? Comment below or send NRG a message from our contact page.
Want to keep up with our weekly content? Then simply sign up to our newsletter below and enjoy!
Interested in personal training, injury assessment or sports massage? You book now via email or phone! We look forward to hearing from you.