Introduction to Prevent Pain Shin Splints for Runners
Shin splints basically refer to the inner border or outer border shin bone and muscle pain. People who do high-impact physical activities like running often experience this repetitive strain injury. It can cause tight calves, weak hips, overpronation, poor form of running, etc.
If you don’t treat the shin splints, your bone may start to break down after some time. This is the ultimate guide to Prevent Pain Shin Splints for Runners. You can learn the process of restraining this issue by following this whole article.
The Ultimate Guide to Prevent Pain Shin Splints for Runners
From the ultimate guide to Prevent Pain Shin Splints for Runners, you can learn every bit of this issue. Let’s start with knowing what shin splints actually are.
What Are Shin Splints?
It is a medial tibial stress syndrome, a usual injury amongst all the runners. When someone puts frequent stress or force on the lower leg, shin, and muscles, it can cause.
Shin splints sufferers experience dull or tight aches, mild swelling at the lower leg shin and on the outer muscles.
Runners felt this pain mostly at the beginning of the running session. As runners can’t stop running, it is necessary to take some precautions to heal this pain.
Using ice or heat packs, compression, acupuncture, shoes for shin splints, medications, etc., runners can reduce the pain.
What Causes Runners Shin Splints?
At first, you should know the causes behind shin splints. Let’s find out the causes of shin splints in this section.
Overtraining:
When the leg’s bones and muscles repeatedly overwork with forceful or stressful motion, shin splints happen. Due to the running terrain, distance, or duration of runs and frequency, it can cause.
Poor Running:
Biomechanical issues such as a high arch or flat feet cause poor running. Through the skeletal and muscular system, the human body absorbs forces or pressure. Our body has a margin of tolerance; when it crosses the limit, then injury happens.
Poor Muscle and Calf:
With tight muscle and stiff joints, our body fails to absorb shock. Ankle’s excessive movements, weakness, and tightness result in traction on the tibia; thus, shin splints happen. Also, with smaller calf size and reduced calf strength, this issue can arise.
Running Environment:
Runners have to practice at hard and steep surfaces on a regular basis. It is the main reason for increasing the risk of shin splints.
While running on a hard surface, tibias get more shock and absorb ground reaction. Thus runners face the issue of shin splints.
Inappropriate Footwear:
Wearing shoes with a lack of padding, cheap insole or outsole, improper fitting can cause shin splints.
If runner’s shoes can’t support their whole body and are unable to provide stability, they will face major injury.
How to Prevent Shin Splints?
After knowing what shin splints are and their causes, now it is time to find out their prevention. The below phase will help you to gather some knowledge for preventing this problem.
Increase Training Intensity Gradually:
As shin splints are caused due to overuse and overtraining, it can be treated easily. You just have to plan a proper training program that will help you to progress gradually.
A slow pace training program allows your body to adapt to the increased intensity level. Also, it will let your body to cope up with the frequency of physical activity.
Strength Training:
Proper strength training helps you to increase the strength of muscles, bones, tendons, and ligaments.
With increased tendons and muscle strength, you can hold the entire body with accurate alignment. This thing protects the bones and joints and increases the body’s capacity to do more hard-work.
Proper Footwear:
Wear perfect fitted and shock, absorbing insole, and outsole shoes are a must for runners. With an accurate grip, a shoe can provide great support and stability.
These things allow you to move with comfort and make your foot well-contoured. You can consult with a physiotherapist to choose appropriate shoes for running sessions.
Sports Massage:
You can take sports massages if you have tight calf muscles. Professional sports massage therapists can easily identify the problems and target the areas to provide massage. A proper massage can loosen up the calf muscles and helps to heal the shin splints pain.
Stretch:
Remember, stretching can’t prevent shin splints, but it can stop those factors that cause shin splints.
If you stretch for 5 to 10 minutes before a running session, it will create a proper running form. Also, stretching is beneficial for balancing and strengthening the muscles around the shin.
Further visit: 10 Benefits of Physical Exercise For Fitness and Healthy Body
Compression, Ice Pack, and Foam Roller:
For instant healing, runners can use compression socks and leg sleeves. Using ice packs for 20 minutes and massage with foam rollers can subside the shin splints pain. These things are beneficial for instant recovery from such pains.
Cross-Training:
Doing cross-training can be tough for runners because they mostly spend time endurance building training.
But runners must do some strength training and cross-training to heal shin splints. Strengthening the lower leg muscle is a must for preventing shin splints.
Cross-training can improve muscle strength and running mechanics. As a result, it helps your body to avoid injuries in weaker areas.
Final Verdict
Runners have to do a lot of hard work during their training session. As a result, they put a lot of stress on their feet.
Immense pressure and stress result in shin splints. The best thing is to take a rest and give some time to heal the pain of shin splints.
You can apply the information given by the ultimate guide to Prevent Pain Shin Splints for Runners.
Try to avoid the desire of doing too much stuff in a day. Bear in mind these above tips while returning to running to avoid shin splints.
