How Do I Prevent and Treat Shin Splints?

by Jennifer
(Albuquerque, NM)

What do I do to prevent and treat shin splints?
Thx.

Jennifer


Answer by Dominique:


Jennifer,
Thank you for your question about shin splints.
I have put a page together about shin splints which you can find here, but I'll put together a short summary for you:



When you have shin splints, the first thing you should do is stop or at least seriously reduce your running. As a first stop, apply ice to reduce inflammation of the shins.





Easy icing is possible with Shin Ice, an elegant solution. This has small cold packs in a neoprene sleeve. You put the sleeve into the fridge and then you put it on.


Click here for more information.




After icing comes the stretching. Heel raises and heel drops are good, both in treatment and prevention of shin splints and achilles tendinitis. I reckon they should be part of the normal stretches that people do after their runs. See my achilles tendinitis page for these exercises.


The shin splint from Pro-Tec works as a support to your shins. It helps to reduce the symptoms of shin splints and it adds stability by providing gentle pressure. This also helps to stop additional tearing of soft tissue.


Click here for more information.

So between icing, stretching and some of these specialised shin splints products you have got all the ingredients together to treat your shin splints.

When it comes to prevention of shin splints the stretches above are pretty important.

What you also need to try to find out is how you got these shin splints in the first place. Have you simply been doing too much, too soon? Have you started doing too much hill running? Are your runnign shoes ready for renewal?

Once you figure out what got you the injury you are more than half way to preventing it the second time!

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Best of luck with your running injury.
Hope you'll be able to run again soon!
Cheers,
Dominique