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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
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