Shin splints is a common injury in all running and jumping sports. The athlete complains of pain on the inside of the shin-bone when landing on the foot. If the athlete continues to train through pain, it can result in a stress-fracture which could mean weeks of non-training. It is important to understand the cause of this condition in order to prevent and to fix it. The cause Shin-splints are caused by weakness of the muscles on the inside of the calf. The pain normally starts when the athlete suddenly increases his training, without allowing the muscles to become gradually stronger. It could happen at any level of training; I have seen 2 different athletes this year who developed shin splints within 3 months before they were due to compete in the Olympic Games. When testing muscle strength on athletes with shin-splints, I always find the weakness on either of these 2 exercises: The first exercise on the back will show the strength of the back of the inside calf and the exercise on the side will show the strength of the inside of the calf. All athletes at all levels should be able to hold these 2 positions without any pain for 30 seconds. If you are not able to do that, the muscles in the weak areas will need to use cramping and muscle spasm to fake the contraction, which will lead to a pull on the membrane around the tibia bone, resulting in swelling and pain. How do these muscles become so weak? I find the main causes of this weakness as: Tightness of the power-lines. If you train continuously at high intensity, which is relative to your level of fitness, the power muscles becomes stronger in comparison to the stabilizers. The fascia (connective tissue) now becomes thicker around these power muscles to add more support, resulting in less support around the stabilizers, causing an imbalance. We often find that the fascia around the Quadriceps is very shortened and thickened which ‘opens’ up the fascia and support on the inside of the calf, resulting in muscle spasm and eventually shin splints. So make sure you check the length of the anterior line (Quad stretch test) to prevent this situation. The use of anti-pronation shoes and orthotics. Podiatrists will recommend orthotics if they notice that you are a pronator. What does it mean when they say you are a pronator? All it means is that the insides of your legs are weaker than the outsides, causing the ankles to pronate inwards. In stead of just strengthening the muscles, they recommend an orthotic or shoe that will support your ankle, leaving you with even weaker muscles. Notice how thin and weak your leg becomes after it has been supported in a plaster cast for 6 weeks. This is exactly what happens to your inside leg muscles if they are supported by a shoe or orthotic. They become even weaker! So how do I fix my shin splints? Do the stretch test and stretch your powermuscles to the neutral position. Test your Bunkies and exercise the weak Bunkies until they can hold 30 seconds. Buy neutral shoes and walk as much barefoot as possible to strengthen your ankles and feet.Walk a steep uphill for 5 minutes a day to strengthen your shins. Find a good masseur to release all the tight connective tissue on the shins. Never train into pain. If your muscles are not strong enough to allow pain-free training, you owe it to them to prepare them properly to handle the new workload.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 12:03:57 +0000
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