Shin Splint Exercises:



Shin Splint Exercises:

1. Wall Shin Raises:

Simply stand with your back to a wall, with your heels about the length of your feet away from the wall. Then, lean back until your buttocks and shoulders rest against the wall. Dorsiflex both ankles simultan-eously, while your heels remain in contact with the ground. Bring your toes as far toward your shins as you can, and then lower your feet back toward the ground, but do not allow your forefeet to contact the ground before beginning the next repeat. Simply lower them until they are close to the ground, and then begin another repetition. Complete about 12 to 15 reps.

2. Heel Step-Downs:

These are simple but devastatingly effective exercises for preventing medial tibial stress syndrome (MTSS). Begin with a natural, erect body position, with your feet about shoulder-width apart, and then step forward with one foot. The length of the step should be moderate - as though you were walking in your normal manner. When your heel makes contact with the ground, stop the foot from fully plantar flexing, e. g., use your shin muscles to keep the sole of the foot from making contact with the ground. After heel contact, the ball of your foot should descend no more than an inch toward the floor or ground; your foot is held in check by the eccentric contractions of your dorsiflexors (shin muscles). Return your foot to the starting position (back by the other foot), and repeat this basic stepping action a total of 15 times. Then, shift over to the other foot and complete 15 steps. As with the wall shin raises, progress to three sets of 15 reps over time.

3. Bucket Handle Exercises:

Wrap a towel around the handle of an empty water bucket. Sit on a table or other surface high enough to prevent the feet from touching the floor. Place the bucket handle over the front part of one shoe. Slowly raise the front of the foot by flexing the ankle, then slowly extend the foot by pointing the toe. Repeat 10 times, then rest for a few seconds. Do 2 more sets of 10. To increase resistance, add water to the bucket—but not so much that the exercise is painful.

4. Outward Ankle Rolls:

Stand up. Slowly roll the ankle out so that the inner part of the sole is raised off the floor. Slowly lower the sole back to the floor. Do 3 sets of 10.

5. Heel Raisers-Toes Out: Stand with your heels together and toes pointed out. Slowly raise up onto your toes and lower yourself back down. Repeat 10 times.

6. Heel Raisers-Heels Out: Stand with your big toes together and heels far apart. Slowly raise up onto your toes, then lower yourself back down. Repeat 10 times.

TOE CURLS

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7. Toe Curls

Stand with feet hip-width apart at the edge of a towel. With the toes of your left foot, gather the towel and slowly pull it toward you. Return to start and repeat with the other foot.

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8. Monster Walks

With feet shoulder-width apart, place a resistance band around your thighs and step forward and toward the right with your right leg. Bring your left leg up to meet your right, then step out toward the left. Then walk backward in the same way to return to the start. Repeat.

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9. Heel Drop

Stand on your toes on the edge of a step. Shift your weight to your right leg, take your left foot off the step, and lower your right heel down. Return to start, and then repeat with your left leg.

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10. One-Legged Bridges

Lie on your back with your arms out to the sides, knees bent, and feet flat on the floor. Squeeze your glutes to lift your hips up off the floor. Extend your left leg out and hold for 30 seconds (work up to 60-second holds), then lower it. Repeat with your other leg.

11. Gastrocnemius muscle stretch

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One of the most important shin splints exercises - to stretch the larger of the calf muscles lean against a wall with the back leg straight keeping the heel pushed into the floor. A stretch should be felt at the back of the lower leg. If a stretch cannot be felt then move the heel further back. Hold for 20 seconds then relax and repeat 3 times. If the athlete has particularly flexible calf muscles then a more advanced version of the calf stretch can be done on a step.

12. Soleus muscle stretch

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To to stretch this muscle the knee must be bent to relax the overlying Gastrocnemius. The patient should stand facing a wall with the foot of the calf to be stretched at the back. The knee of the back leg should be bent towards the wall, keeping the heel on the floor. A stretch should be felt in the lower part of the back of the calf. hold this position for 30 seconds and repeat 3 times. A more advanced version of this stretching exercise is to place the forefoot or the front leg on the wall keeping the heel on the floor and gently push the front knee towards the wall.

13. Seated shin stretches

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Stretches for shin splints also involve stretching the muscles on the front of the lower leg can be difficult to achieve. It is probably more important to stretch the muscles at the back of the lower leg. The athlete kneels down sitting on their heels. Gently push down on the heels to stretch the front of the leg. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds and repeat 3 times. To increase the stretch do one leg at a time and lift up the knee of the stretching leg.

14. Toe raises

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Toe raises are a good starting point when looking to strengthen the shin muscles. Start with only a few repetitions and gradually increase the numbers. The patient should be sat with both feet flat on the floor. Keeping the heel on the ground, the patient should lift the rest of the foot up as high as possible. Hold for a couple of seconds before slowly returning the foot back to the floor Repeat 10-20 times and increase to performing 2-3 sets. Less is more with this exercise, doing too much too soon can make symptoms worse.

15. Resisted dorsiflexion

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Dorsiflexion is the ankle movement where the toes are pointed towards the ceiling. To progress in strengthening the shin muscles resistance can be used in the form of either pressure from a partner or a resistance band. The patient sits on the floor with the resistance band looped around the toes and held at a fixed point on the floor in front. They then dorsi flex the ankle against the resistance of the band.

Play resisted dorsi flexion exercise video.

16. Heel and toe walking

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The patient walks with exaggerated ankle movements from the heel raising up high on the toes. A variation of this is to walk the length of a room either on the toes or on the heels will help to strengthen the calf and shin muscles respectively. Make sure you do this slowly and under complete control.

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