There are many great exercises and stretches that will help you avoid shin splints as well as recover from them, but today I am going to focus on a few that have helped me the most.

The first exercise to strengthen the muscles in your shins requires only a towel and a slippery surface such as laminate or ceramic flooring. Lay the towel on the floor and place the top half of your foot on the towel while you are barefoot. Use your toes to curl the towel in toward you. Repeat as often as possible. You should begin to feel a bit of a ‘burn’ in your shins.

For the second exercise, simply lay on a bed, on your tummy, with your feet just barely overhanging the mattress. Curl your feet toward you using the mattress as resistance,

Shin splints are usually a result of running, especially if you are new to running or having walked, jogged, or run in a while. It’s important to warm up prior to running. I like to roll my foot around to loosen up my ankles as well as stretch out my calve muscles.

Notice in the video that I performed the calve stretch with a straight leg and a bent leg. The straight leg stretches out the outer layer of the calve muscles (gastrocnemius) and the bent leg stretches the deeper muscle (soleus).

After a run I like to use the foam roller to massage my calves. I slowly roll along the foam roller from my ankle to the back of my knee, looking for tight or knotted areas. When I find a knotted area I hold it until the ‘mild pain’ subsides. Sometimes you will feel the muscle pulsating while you hold that knotted portion on the foam roller. That’s totally normal.

I hope that you enjoyed this short video demonstration that promotes lower leg health and how to avoid getting shin splints. If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to post them in the comment box below.

To achieving your limitless potential,

Scott Tousignant