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What
are shin splints?
How can I prevent shin splints?
Improving sports performance
Shin splints rehabilitation for
athletes
How can I prevent
shin splints?
Shin splints are best prevented by stretching and strengthening the muscles
of the lower leg before and after doing your activities. If you have tight
calf muscles, it is a good idea to stretch these twice a day whether or
not you are doing any sports activities that day.
Here are some more
steps to reduce your risk of shin splints:
- Avoid sudden increases
of training volume or intensity. If you have had a lay-off of more than
5 days, return to full training should be done in gradual increments.
- Be sure that running
surfaces and courses used in training are amenable to the training regimen.
Some athletes thrive on hard surfaces, others on resilient ones. You
need to decide what surface is best, based on experience.
- A training diary
can be a valuable in helping you remember what aspects of your training
were beneficial.
- Choose your running
shoes carefully. They should provide sufficient cushion for the heel
strike. Also replace worn out shoes regularly.
- In addition to
custom-fitted orthotics, all runners should be encouraged to wear well-designed
shoes that provide good stability. This helps to prevent shin splint
problems and is especially important in athletes running more than a
few miles at a time.
- Increase your running
distance and your speed gradually, in increments no greater than 10
percent a week.
- Avoid unaccustomed
strenuous sprinting, such as hill running.
- Cool down properly
by stretching after exercise.
Improving sports
performance
The key to improving sports performance after a diagnosis of shin splints
is a proper rehabilitation
program, and adhering to some of those same principles after the injury
is gone.
The single most important
aspect of improving performance is stretching before and after training.
Benefits derived from stretching include:
- increased physical
efficiency and performance
- decreased risk
of injury
- increased blood
supply and nutrients to joint structures
- increased coordination
- improved muscular
balance and postural awareness
- reduced stress
- enhanced enjoyment
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