Back in high school, when I played volleyball it never failed that every season I would end up with shin splints. Within two weeks of volleyball practice, my shins would start getting this shooting pain in them every time I ran or jumped. Now, if you know anything about playing volleyball, jumping is a key part of the sport. Along the way I learned a couple of things to help me ease the pain of my shin splints and I will share what worked for me.
First, let’s look at what exactly shin splints are. The term shin splints is a very generic term for any pain in the lower leg region, around the shin area. It usually starts out as a dull pain and develops into shooting pains in the lower part of the leg. If you continue to do the activities that are causing the shin splints, then the pain only gets worse. In some people, the pain gets so bad that they feel even when they are just laying around the house. The pain that comes with shin splints can be caused by several different things. it may be from tendonitis, inflammation of the actual shin bone, or from a stress fracture of the shin bone. Shin splints most commonly appear with people who practice sports that involve running or jumping.
Although shin splints will not go away fully unless you completely stop the sport you are doing, there are some ways to help ease the pain. Purchasing high quality shoes for your sport will help ease the pain. If your shoes are worn out and do not give you support, you are just asking for trouble. Invest some money in good shoes for the designated sport and it will give you more stability for your shins and take away the some of the impact from pounding on the floor.
If you think that you have an arch problem with your feet, go see your doctor as soon as possible. Flat feet cause exaggerate shin splints in a person. An athletic trainer or an orthopedic doctor can provide you with custom shoe inserts if they see you are having problems with your arches in your feet.
When you start out with any new sport or exercise, make sure that you are not doing too much too soon. Doing too much too soon can cause shin splints to happen. Gradually increasing your time spent playing a sport or practicing can help allow for adequate time to rest your body so you do not get shin splints. If you know your season starts in a couple weeks, start practicing on your own to help build up your intensity.
Icing your shins also helps ease the pain of shin splints. Keep a bag of ice on your leg for 10-15 minutes at a time. If you are experiencing swelling or tenderness with your shin splints this will help also with those symptoms. Do not apply the ice directly to the skin, as you do not want to suffer from frostbite.
The last thing that you can do to help with your shin splints is to stretch your calf muscles. Stretching your calf muscles will help strengthen them and they can better help stabilize and support your shins. A calf stretch that you can do is:
Step forward into a lunge position with your toes pointing forward. The forward leg should be bent and the back leg straight. To stretch the calf of the back leg, press your heel into the floor, while keeping the forward leg still. Repeat on the opposite side.
Source: www.medicinenet.com
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