Shin splints are one of those nagging aches and pains most runners encounter at some point in their training—but that doesn’t mean you should just grin and bear it.
“We see it all the time in the clinic,” osteopath and clinical lead at The Livewell Clinic, Danny Sayandan tells Fit&Well.
Common themes, he says, are runners in worn-out shoes, heel striking instead of landing midfoot, or overstriding.
“It’s often linked to the least stretched muscle in the body—your calves—and most neglected muscle—the tibialis anterior—found on the front of the shin,” says Sayandan.
When they’re tight or undertrained, the impact of every footstrike gets pushed straight into the shins, triggering a dull ache down the front or inside of your shins.
The solution? Add these five exercises from Sayandan to your weekly workouts to stretch and strengthen these often overlooked muscles.
5 exercises to try if you get shin pain when running
1. Toe raise
Sets: 2 Reps: 12-15 each side
Why: Lifting your toes strengthens the front of your shin.
How:
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
- Lift your toes.
- Hold for two seconds.
- Lower your toes to the start.
2. Calf raise
Sets: 2 Reps: 12-15
Why: Build strength and endurance in the lower legs.
How:
- Stand with your feet together.
- Lift your heels to rise onto your toes and the balls of your feet.
- Pause, then lower slowly.
You can also perform these with your heels off a step (as in the video above), lowering your heels below the step to add a stretch to your calves.
As you get stronger, progress to single-leg calf raises, then begin to add weight with a dumbbell or kettlebell held in one hand.
3. Soleus wall hold
Sets: 2 Reps: 12-15 / Time: 30sec
Why: This bent-knee heel raise targets the deep-lying soleus muscle in your calves.
How:
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding a bannister or other sturdy anchor point for support (an alternative is to rest your back on a wall, as in the video above).
- Bend your knees and push your hips back to lower into a squat, with your knees bent at 90˚.
- Hold this position and either perform 12-15 calf raises (see above), or rise up onto the balls of your feet and hold for 30 seconds.
4. Tibialis stretch
Sets: 2 Reps: 8-10
Why: This is a gentle stretch for the muscles in the front of the shin.
How:
- Kneel with your feet together, sitting on your heels with your hands or forearms on the floor to help control the load through your ankles.
- Push through your hands or forearms and carefully lift your knees to increase the stretch in the front of your shins.
- Hold for a few seconds, then lower.
5. Midfoot walking
Rather than an exercise, try to practice this continuously—and certainly as you move from exercise to exercise in this workout. Concentrate on landing softly through your midfoot to retrain your gait and reduce impact through your heel, ankle, calves and shins.
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