Why do runners get shin splints?
Well, this stinks. You’ve got pain on the inside of your shin and are confident it’s the dreaded “shin splints”. Every year, millions of runners deal with this achy condition, technically called “medial tibial stress syndrome.” Today we’re going to show you the best exercises for shin splints and help get you back on the road..
Shin splints, like all running related injuries, show up when your training exceeds your body’s tolerance for training. If a change isn’t made, shin splints can develop into a bone stress injury (study). It’s best to on top of this kind of pain ASAP.
Contrary to popular but outdated science, there are probably no “muscle imbalances” or biomechanical factors like pronation to blame. Your body is built perfectly fine, it was mostly likely a few too many miles, too much pace, too little sleep, or too few calories consumed that did you in. The best thing is to focus on increasing your body’s ability to handle training load by strengthening the tissues of the lower leg.
What can runners do about shin splints?
There are no quick fixes here, but committing to strengthening the muscles of the lower leg and completing the best exercises for shin splints 3 times per week will allow you to come back stronger than ever. This setback has the potential to make you a better runner. If you make your shins and calves stronger, you might even be able to run more than you ever could ever before the injury.
The best exercises for shin splints
You’re going to want to do these 3 exercises 2 times per week to start. Do them after your runs, and don’t do them on your off days (you need those to recover!) You may start to feel immediate benefits, but it can take weeks for strength gains to make a meaningful difference. It’s worth it. As always, stop if it starts to hurt worse and consider temporarily reducing running volume to get the quickest strength benefits.
Exercise 1: Ankle Inversions With Resistance Bands
Why it works: this targets the location of the pain directly. Loading the muscles and tendons of the inner shin helps retrain them for tolerating running load.
Exercise 2: Standing Soleus Raises
Why it works: the soleus handles more load than any muscle in the running stride (study). When it’s strong, less force ends up distributed in the shin bone.
Exercise 3: Standard Calf Raise
Why it works: Strengthening the second key muscle of the calf, the gastrocnemius, also helps increase our capacity for training. Muscle and bone have a symbiotic relationship, so stronger muscles help keep bone healthy and prevent them from doing all the work alone!
Want these exercises in a custom routine that matches your training goals and existing strength? Try the Recover Athletics app for free!
To be totally honest with you, we want to start a revolution. A revolution against the old attitude that “injuries are a part of the sport.” Millions of runners have to miss training days due to injury ever year. It simply doesn’t have to be that way, and we’re going to change it. Learn more about our team.