By
in
Shin splints is described as pain along the inner edge of the shinbone or tibia. Shin splints is a prevalent form of lower leg injury and can affect any of us. They are particularly common amongst runners.
Why?
Because the ONLY muscle that strongly lifts your foot is your …
Tibialis (shin) muscles.
Functionally, its major job is not to shorten, but to lengthen in a controlled way: to gently lower the forefoot after the heel strikes the ground. This requires an eccentric contraction – the muscle contracts while lengthening.
Without the tibialis anterior’s powerful and well-coordinated eccentric contractions, your foot would slap ungracefully onto the ground with every step. On hard surfaces, the strain of preventing foot slapping is great. That strain is often how shin splints begin for runners.
Eccentric contractions are known to cause additional muscle soreness after exercise, which is why the shin muscle tends to get really sore after running hard – and why the muscle tends to develop large, chronic trigger points.
To release these trigger points, place the PBT Pilates Ball at the top 1/3 of the front of your shin:
Thanks for this. I really appreciate it as I get shin splints from time to time from either increasing my mileage too much when running or just not running in good form 😛