Preventing Shin Splints?

[Rize]

Anyone have any tips for preventing shin splints? I've been getting some beast cases of it lately that are hampering how frequently I trick and shortening the times I can manage to keep pushing myself. I don't want a stress fracture.


I've read that heelstriking can cause this and I've been working towards staying on the balls of my feet as much as possible. I trick 4 nights a week M T W TH for about 90mins at a time after I get off work.

Flipped thru the Titanium ankles posting and have been working to build the strength, albeit I could be a little less of a slacker in this area.

Would a day of rest between sessions be beneficial to subduing the pain?

Any tips at all are appreciated.

[Birch]

You have weak shins, work them. End of story.

[EmpRitz]

Rest and icing you shins daily to reduce the pain, especially after workouts/trick sessions.

[Rize]

Yes sir. Will do thanks.

[jan]

Muscle massages around the bone. Calf raises + reversed raises (shin raises or whatever) at all possible angles, ankle stretching. Stretching my shins, calves and ankles helped me a ton (plus I've got ballet-like mobility in my ankles now, YAY).

[n3m3s1s]

I like your new avatar Jan =p

[TysonTF]

Well if you have them you can't really prevent them now and if you have them you most likely have a stress fracture as that is what shin splints are.

If you want to get rid of them now take a long rest otherwise tough it out every session. Focus on landing lighter and avoid surface changes like constant swapping from plyo to concrete.

[Tpuglisi]

Back in the fall I had a big problem with shin splints since it was my first year doing crosscountry so I feel like I've heard all of the possible tips. First of all, make sure you have a good warmup in your routine, check out Juji's article on warmups. The exercise in which you make the ABC's with your feet is really good for your shins. Also, icing helps a lot so make sure you are icing after your training sessions. Stretching is also very good so make sure you get a good stretch after any workout. Getting a pair of arch support insoles in your shoes can also work wonders. And if you really want to get rid of your shin splints the best remedy is rest, but dont just sit on your ass all day, make sure you are icing your shins and stretching your legs. Oh ya and dont take more than 2 weeks off if you want to rest because shin splints usually occur if your body is not used to the workload you are putting on it, so if you fall out of shape you will probably just get shin splints again. Oh and one last thing, if you tie your shoes really tight, then stop it. This puts strain on all of the tendons going down your shin/leg and can cause shin splints.

Hope this helped =]

[Theme]

What? Tight shoelaces can give you shin splits? Rofl (I trust you, but it sounds stupid :P)

What gives?
- Building strenght in ankles
- Stretching
- warmup
- support bandage/taping when doing tricks you know might hurt your ankle (to me that's an aerial)
- "RICE" (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation (although the first 2 will be the most important for you I think))

Yes, I'm just summing up what everone else said, but good advice can never be repeated too many times can it? :P

Also don't trick on concrete/hard floor. Grass/mats.

[Skilzat85X]

If there is any pain you need to not be tricking on them haha. Just give it a little while.

[jan]

I like your new avatar Jan =p

Thanks dawg :D I think it's scott, based on the perfectly oval nipples and the red thong.


:D

[TysonTF]

That ain't no thong.

[Raima]

Slowly condition them. I'd suggest using Muay Thai methods of kicking a punching/kicking bag to increase the bone density of the shins.

[Ashtar]

It really depends on if it's a muscle condition or a bone condition. Most likely a variety of different things so you don't overstress any certain part.

The reverse ankle raises are like a calf raise but backwards, with your heels touching and your balls+toes going up and down as opposed to how we bring the heels up and down with the balls and toes on the ground.

It's fun to do it without shoes sometimes (like on stairs at home, or barefoot on pool steps or ladder) to feel more freedom.

Also, even without any resistance try flexing your ankles back and forth just in the air (or sitting, or lying on your back, whatever). Using a full RoM of dorsi and plantar flexion, especially if you speed it up, you'll actually feel them pump up pretty well even though you're not exerting any outward force. I think this is because a lot of us have tight muscles both at the front and back (moreso in the back usually) of our lower leg. Basically our feet do not flop around as loosely as our hands do, the ankle joint is generally tighter (people in wheelchairs might have it opposite possibly though).

You can sometimes even get that in your wrists if you try moving through full RoM while clenching into a fist. That's a trick I got out of reading a 50s Batman comic. I bet that's one of the secrets behind gyroballs!

It is probably because a lot of us have tight toes too, since toes also affect it since the toe flexors and extensors cross the ankle (I'm pretty sure they do, just like the finger flexors/extensors).

In this case toe flexors aid with ankle extension (plantar flexion, I hate how they call it flexion, it's confusing to have 2 kinds of flexion!) and the toe extensors help with (dorsi) flexion.

[Rize]

Thanks for all the tips guys! I thankfully no longer suffer from shin splints, which is awesome because now I can trick wherever whenever, lol.