How to Treat Shin Splints

Jun 9th, 2008 by Mehdi Posted in Injury

Shin Splints
Image credit: Annie White

Reader Koryjane1979 posted in StrongLifts.com Forum:

3 times a week I attempt to do sprints at the track for my intervals. I feel like I am getting a good workout until after when I feel the pain in my shins and sometimes the muscles around my knees.

I don’t get sore at any other time, just after sprints. I run on the track so that it won’t be so jarring on my joints. Is there stretches I can do after that will decrease the pain I feel? Or am I running incorrectly during the sprints?

Why Do You Get Shin Splints? Shin splints is a blanket term. Lack of recovery, like too much sprinting, can result in shin splints. But often there’s more going on. Koryjane1979 mentioned knee pain too.

Bad Footwear. Wearing shoes with heels can limit the range of motion of your dorsiflexors and tighten your plantarflexors over time.
Limited Ankle Mobility. Limited dorsiflexion range of motion (ROM) and tight plantarflexors force your body to compensate mobility elsewhere.
External Rotated Feet. Lack of ankle mobility will make your feet turn outward, while your lower-/upper-leg will turn internally to compensate.

Why You Should Look Into This. Lack of ankle mobility forces your feet out and turns your hip inward. This causes loss of external hip rotation ROM, which can force your knees/lower back to compensate mobility.

You understand shin splints, but also plantar fasciitis or achilles tendinosis, are just the tip of the iceberg. Often there’s a lot more going on, which can result in lower back pain or knee pain or your knees buckling in on Squats.

Why Women Should Really Look Into This. Women have an increased Q-angle compared to men: wider hips, narrow knees. Couple this with the chronic wear of high heels, and you understand why women are more prone to ACL injuries.

By the way, the increased Q-angle is part of the reason why women often have a harder time keeping their knees out on Squats, Deadlifts, Lunges, etc.

Image credit: Doctor Latino.

How to Treat Shin Splints. Chances are your sprinting technique isn’t optimal. Stop sprinting for now so your shins recover. In the meanwhile:

Improve Ankle Mobility. Both plantarflexors and dorsiflexors. Do the exercises from the ankle mobility post and from this & this video.
Strengthen Your Dorsiflexors. DARD work, Seated Dumbbell Dorsiflexion, Barbell Reverse Calf Raises, etc
Wear Flat Shoes. Chuck Taylor All Stars for Squats & Deadlifts. Nike Frees for running. Women: drop the high heels at home.
Go Barefoot. Do all your dynamic stretching exercises barefoot. Walk barefoot at home as much as you can.
Improve Hip Mobility. You’re probably tight in there. Do the exercises from the hip mobility post, get Magnificent Mobility if you need more.
Soft Tissue Work. Feet & calves: toes up/in, rotate in/out. Foam roll the rest too while you’re at it. Read the Soft Tissue Work guide.
Strengthen Your Posterior Chain. Deadlifts, Rack Pulls, Box Squats, Glute Ham Raises, Pull-throughs, Reverse Hypers, Reverse Lunges, …

Find out how to build muscle & lose fat through strength training in only 3 workouts per week in StrongLifts 5x5 FREE eBook. To get your free copy today, click here.

18 Responses to “How to Treat Shin Splints”

on 09 Jun 2008 at 4:49 pm1Jason

I had to give up running because of shin splints. I’m a heavy, flat-footed runner and though I was in shapre, cardiovascularly, my shins couldn’t take the pavement pounding. I’ve taken walking/running indoors on the eliptical and stuck to biking outdoors. Maybe as I lose some weight and strengthen the posterior chain through weight lifting the pain will ease and I can get back after it running outside.
on 09 Jun 2008 at 4:49 pm2Balazs

Mehdi, in this article I really miss out the following, whereas the info you provide is great and helpful:

You could also have a look Into POSE-running. Google has infos on that one. There is also an ebook by marathon runner Gordon Pirie on that.
As for running shoes, the really flat (uncushioned) ones are for POSE running, but for the conventional running where you are landing on your heels, you will need a fair amount cushioning, else you are going to ruin your knees.
POSE is quite easy to learn for sprints (and is standard for that among racers) and not so easy for slower pace running, but is definitely doable. I am a recreational CrossFit’er myself, not very talented, and was still able to learn POSE for sprints. So while it needs some dedication, it’s definitely not impossible

Regards,
Balazs
on 09 Jun 2008 at 5:07 pm3Shoebox

My best friend always complains about these. I’ll have to send him a link to this article.
on 09 Jun 2008 at 5:16 pm4Mehdi

@Jason
Try ankle mobility, really.

@Balazs
This eBook available for free on Pirie’s site? Have read some basics on running technique, but not enough to write about it. Thanks for helping out.

@Shoebox
Thanks!
on 09 Jun 2008 at 7:31 pm5PhilDS

Hi Mehdi,

Here is the book Balazs talked about.
http://www.geocities.com/jsgilbody/Gordon_book_040104.pdf

It has a nice quote that ties into the Stronglifts philosophie though the program he proposes (chapter 5) is a bit different from yours.

“Free weights are better for runners than universal gym, nautilus, etc”
on 09 Jun 2008 at 7:33 pm6Andrew is getting fit

As someone who has taken up running I’m so grateful I haven’t had any problems with this especially considering I’m a bit heavier than the normal runner. I’ll refer a few people on the running forums to this article. It’s a perennial complaint amongst runners.
on 10 Jun 2008 at 1:45 am7elVarouza

Hi,

You say lack of ankle mobility can cause feet to turn outwards. My feet have always turned outwards, and I have pretty big hips for a dude (I was born with some hip problems). My right foot turns out about 30-45 degrees when I walk, but my left foot is fine. Is there a way to know if this is an issue of lack of ankle mobility or just my body being the way it is?

Thanks
on 10 Jun 2008 at 8:03 am8yardbird

I’ve just started to add more HIIT to my training, and this post is perfect timing. Keep up the fantastic work Mehdi.
on 10 Jun 2008 at 8:23 am9Felix

Nike Free are definitly NOT made for running - they are made either for cooling down AFTER running or for walking around. In both cases the nerves and muscles on the sole of the feet should be stimulated.

But because they have strongly reduced absorption running in Nike Frees will kill your joints.

How do I know this? I work at an advertising agency in germany who among others has Nike as a client.
on 10 Jun 2008 at 8:40 am10Mehdi

@Felix

In order to further compare shod versus barefoot running, 35 subjects ran two bouts of 4 minutes at 3.33 m x s(-1) on a treadmill dynamometer. Parameters were measured on about 60 consecutive steps. Barefoot showed mainly lower contact and flight time (p < 0.05), lower passive peak (1.48 versus 1.70 body weight, p < 0.05), higher braking and pushing impulses (p < 0.05), and higher pre-activation of triceps surae muscles (p < 0.05) than shod. It was concluded that when performed on a sufficient number of steps, barefoot running leads to a reduction of impact peak in order to reduce the high mechanical stress occurring during repetitive steps. This neural-mechanical adaptation could also enhance the storage and restitution of elastic energy at ankle extensors level.

Divert, C., Mernieux, G., Baur, H., Mayer, F., Belli, A. Mechanical comparison of barefoot and shod running. Int J Sports Med. 2005 Sep;26(7):593-8.
on 10 Jun 2008 at 8:53 am11Felix

Yes - on a TREADMILL.

Try this one on hard concrete - your joints won`t be that thankful I guess.
on 10 Jun 2008 at 9:11 am12Mehdi

@Felix
It doesn’t matter if it’s on a treadmill or not, the point is that barefoot running leads to a reduction of impact peak. Don’t believe me, do your own research and make up your own mind.
on 10 Jun 2008 at 9:25 am13Balazs

Hi Foolks!
Just to join the barefoot running discussion. Yes, barefoot running reduces impact peak because you intuitively do the POSE or forefoot running (on the ball of your feet), at least above a specific speed. I have tried that myself. It is completely different than running in shoes with heel striking, but IMHO it is the biomechanically correct way to run. I think barefoot running on a threadmill is a good way to get the feeling of the forefoot running, which you can replicate afterwards in shoes. Using an uphill setting at the beginning helps also with finding the correct form.
The cheveat of the case is, that for POSE running, you will need shoes without cushioning, because POSE in cushioned shoes is hard to do. But if you take uncushioned shoes and begin to run the old way, you will have a higher impact and ruined knees.
on 10 Jun 2008 at 9:31 am14Balazs

… if you try POSE on a threadmill barefoot the first time, increase the distance gradually, because your feet, joins, tendons, etc. have to get used to the completely new stresses. 3-5 minutes are sufficient for the first session. Since I have learned it, I always run my 10×100m sprints using POSE.
on 10 Jun 2008 at 1:11 pm15SurvivalTopics.com

Timely post, I have had this problem from time to time. For me, doing toe raises on a platform such as a step really helps.
on 10 Jun 2008 at 4:09 pm16Ben M.

Running backwards also helps to avoid shin splints, maybe treat. See “Griff,” the most hero CrossFit WOD and comments.
on 11 Jun 2008 at 10:11 pm17Jakson

My shin splints were caused by creatine supplementation. Apparently, in some people, it can increase “anterior compartment pressure.”

About a week or two after I stopped, I had no trouble with shin splints anymore.
on 13 Jun 2008 at 11:37 pm18Max

Anyone try running/lifting in Vibram Five Finger shoes? (http://www.vibramfivefingers.com) It’s just as good as working out barefoot without burning/scraping up your feet. I highly recommend them.