5 Strategies to Prevent Shin Pain

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Shin pain can be debilitating for active people. Often referred to as shin splints, shin pain is often caused by stress to the muscles and tendons between the knee and ankle along the front and side of the leg. The best way to treat shin splints is by preventing them in the first place.

5 Strategies to Prevent Shin Pain

Here are five strategies to prevent shin pain:

  1. Always do a warm-up and cool-down stretch. Stretching before and after exercise is crucial to preventing many injuries and ailments, it’s especially important to prevent shin splints. Allowing the muscles to slowly warm up and become more flexible before your run or perform any other activity will help reduce the amount of stress they experience. Stretching after exercise also helps the shin muscles recover safely.
  2. Cross-train to reduce shin stress. If you experience shin splints during every run, try switching up your exercise to dissipate the stress daily running puts on your shins. Swimming, yoga, or cycling are all great alternatives that can help reduce shin pain.
  3. Incorporate strength training into your routine. Strength training is a helpful supplement to any cardio exercise. Strength training helps condition and build muscles to help them perform better during cardio workouts.
  4. Make sure you use the right shoes and proper form. If you exercise regularly, you need to invest in the shoes, orthotics, and braces you need to optimize your body stability and provide the necessary support. This will encourage proper form, which also helps prevent injury and pain.
  5. Progress gradually and prioritize rest. New health kicks and athletic goals are all well and good, but they must be reached safely and wisely. This requires progressing gradually towards your goals and prioritizing the rest you need along the way. As motivated as you may be to pass new milestones, trying to get there too fast can result in pain and injury that prevents you from crossing the finish line.