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Anonymous
Dear /fit/ how do you combat shin splints... especially if you enjoy running?
>> Anonymous
Drawing the alphabet on the ground with your feet is a classic therapy.
>> Anonymous
Stop running. Seriously. But just for a little bit. You sir, have a muscle imbalance. I suggest hitting the weights for your legs, and to work specifically on your dorsiflexion and plantar flexion movements of your calves.
>> Anonymous
>>47476

What's the best option in the gym for this?

Also would hiking be to strenuous too?
>> I end threads because I suck
I get shin splints too. Mine stem from a weird ligament bone connection in my ankle. My whole family has it; cousins, brothers and uncles are all the same way.
We have really strong ankles though. In sports like soccer, were there is side to side movement, we excel at. But Basketball sucks for us because the jumping seems to aggravate the shin splints.
Also semi related we all begin walking at very young ages. I was walking at 9 months old, and some of my cousins were walking even earlier than that.

Regardless we were told that stretching our legs and drawing circles with our feet would lessen the feeling of shin splints.
Also riding a bike is a good substitute.
>> Anonymous
i found it helps if you get better shoes that support your foot/ankle/arch better. some general sporting orthotics can also help
>> Anonymous
>>47491

Op here. Would taking the bike out, help with the dorsiflexion, and plantar flexion deal?
>> Anonymous
>>47484

I don't know if this is your specific problem, as there are many reasons why people get shin splints, but this is the most common way I help my clients out.

Think of plantar flexion as planting your toes into the ground, ie standing on your tippy toes. The opposite movement, dorsiflexion, is where you would be balancing on just your heels with your toes pointed in the air. More likely than not, your main dorsiflexing muscle (tibialis anterior) is probably underdeveloped.

Toe raises and reverse toe raises are a good weight room exercise. If your gym has a machine, go for that, but if it doesn't, you have a couple options here. You can do them standing on the ground, with or without added weight. Also, what I do find is to find a small elevation to place my toes on, like the ground base of a weight bench, and do the toe raises on that to get a better range of motion.

Here;s a good selection of exercises for the calf:
http://www.exrx.net/Lists/ExList/CalfWt.html

If you take it gently, hiking isn't bad, just train yourself on getting your toes up when you do it. A way to tell you have a a weak tibialis anterior is if after walking or running for a bit that your feet start slapping the ground. When that happens, you know your in the shit, because the muscle is not properly absorbing the shock of the movement, and its getting sent straight thru to your bones.

Be sure to warmup, stretch, than do your lower leg exercises, than stretch again after your workout. After you're cooled down, RICE your injuries.

Also, check out this site, it has a good general overview of shin splints:
http://www.thestretchinghandbook.com/archives/shin-splints.php
>> Anonymous
Interesting and informative thread!

Shin splints was a problem for me until it went away on their own about a month into my running routine. No problems since.

To support>>47502statement I believe getting a pair of good running shoes may have helped contribute to early acclimatization.

Will shut up now since there seem to be anons with more head in this than myself.
>> Anonymous
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>>47430
This reached tacticool and cycled back around to...tactigay. Or something.
>> Anonymous
GTFO Finfag PST mies
>> Anonymous
Op Here, Thanks /fit/!

Got my strike test done, doc said to ease out on running, which is a shame, turns out my route's were particularly rough on my feet, and the shoe's I've been using didn't support my foot properly. So I'll be running on the beach with my new kicks, and walking more, got a list of exercises to help when I'm at home.

Thanks again.

Those article's were really helpful.