Shin Splints is actually a localised injury and you get it mosly from a history of repetitive movements, especially running. If you're running on concrete then it only makes the problem worse because of the higher impact.
My suggestion here is to back off the running a bit (you might be able to replace some road running with sprints) and/or move to grass if you haven't already. Try doing do 1 long distance run a week and then some 200 - 400m sprints.
You'll also need to activate and strengthen the psoas (a hip flexor muscle) that will actually "lift your leg up" each step so the stress of the impact goes through the entire leg, not just the lower leg.
The point of this exercise is to hold your knee above 90 degrees of hip flexion (higher than parallel) while keeping your lower back flat against the wall. Do 3 x 15secs each leg.
If you haven't done any foam rolling before then I suggest you start, especially for the lower body.
If you find a tender spot then sit on it and hopefully it dissipates. It will over time anyway. Do this daily.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
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amazing work mate, loving the in depth info and functional exercises that most cert personal trainers seem to ignore.
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot mate.
ReplyDeleteIf you got some ideas for the blog, feel free to send them through
Hey Troy -
ReplyDeleteI spent a portion of my career working for an athletic insole company called Aline (www.aline.com).
During my time, I learned a contributing factor to shin splits is excess motion of the heel (on ground strike). A suggestion to help decrease shin splits is to stabilize the heel with a heel cup (there are many different type).
A common sense approach is to get footwear that actually fits properly. It's amazing how many people do not follow this simple rule.
If you are experiencing shin splits, stay far away from non-supportive footwear, especially flip flops.
Also, a great tool for digging deep on getting knots out is using a softball to roll. This is only if you are used to SMR techniques (i.e foam rolling) as it can be very painful.
ReplyDelete