Hints and Tips

Shoo away shin splints

Shin splints cause a radiating pain in the front lower leg and often make an appearance among new walkers and runners who exercise on hard surfaces that offer no shock absorption.
The underlying cause of shin splints is weakness in the lower leg muscle, an area known as the tibialis anterior. Follow these tips from Life Fitness to avoid a constant battle with shin splints and learn ways to cope with them appropriately.

Short-Term Solutions

• Take your walking/running routine to a softer surface, which will reduce the shock that travels through the legs. Try exercising on a treadmill, grass or sand.
• Consider purchasing orthotic shoe inserts at a local drugstore. If your shin splits are extreme, it may be helpful to visit a podiatrist for prescribed custom inserts.
• Pace yourself! Increase your mileage gradually. Walking or sprinting an instant 5k after a winter-long hibernation will leave your muscles overworked.
• Alternate your exercise regimen by cross-training, which offers variety and can help relieve overall muscle stress.

Don’t forget that stretching is one of the most underrated forms of therapy and relief. Make it part of your daily routine, and your shins will thank you.

Long-Term Solutions

• Try walking on your heels. Walk across the room two or three times at first and slowly build up to repetitions.
• While standing or sitting, lift your foot slightly off of the ground and draw the alphabet with your toes. Repeat on the other side.
• Flex and point the toes any time you’re sitting. Try making this a daily routine.

It’s great to be enthusiastic about starting an intense fitness routine, but respecting your muscles will allow you to suffer less shin splints and meet your goals faster.

Fit Tips are provided by Life Fitness, the leader in designing and manufacturing high-quality exercise equipment for fitness facilities and homes worldwide. For more information on Fit Tips and other fitness advice and expertise visit www.lifefitness.com. You can also follow them on Twitter at www.twitter.com/lifefitness or Like them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/lifefitness.