Runner Stretching for Shin Splints

Runner stretching for shin splints is important for recovery from this painful condition.

What is a shin splint?

“Medial tibial stress syndrome” is the medical term for shin splints.

The tibia, also known as the shankbone or the shinbone, is the stronger and larger of the two bones in the lower leg (below the knee).

The adjective “medial” refers in anatomy to the midline of an animal.

So a shin splint is a syndrome of pain related to stress on the midline side of the tibia.

People can get shin splints because of any of these conditions:

1. Overused muscle: Running or walking, especially on concrete, can lead to muscle overuse that puts too much stress on the tibia. Because bones are constantly repairing and remodeling themselves, this stress can be so severe that it overtakes the tibia’s capacity to remodel itself. The result is a stress fracture that manifests itself with weight-bearing pain that increases as a run progresses.
2. Chronic compartment syndrome: Also known as CCS, chronic compartment syndrome refers to a chronic compression of muscle, blood vessels, and nerves inside a closed space — known as a “compartment” — within the body. CCS as it pertains to shin splints can come from a tibial fracture that leads to a small amount of bleeding into the compartment, which does not stretch because the connective tissue that defines the compartment does not stretch. Or CCS-driven shin splints can come from swelling of muscles in the compartment. No matter the cause of CCS, the result can be an ischemia-driven positive feedback loop of rising pressure and dropping circulation in the compartment that can cause temporary or permanent damage to nearby muscles and nerves.
3. Pes planus: Known commonly as flat feet, pes planus causes muscles of the medial shin to become overstretched. This overstretching leads to weakening, which leads to inflammation. This in turn leads to more overstretching of the medial tibial muscles, resulting in a positive feedback loop of increasing inflammation and pain.

How can runner stretching alleviate shin splints due to pes planus?

Because a tight calf can overstretch and thereby inflame the anterior tibialis (muscle), one solution to alleviate medial tibial stress syndrome is to stretch the calf so that it stops putting permanent stress on the anterior tibialis.

What are some stretches to loosen the calf muscles?

1. Lie down on your back, and flex your ankles so that your toes point toward your head for five minutes.
2. Sit down on the floor, pull your knees slightly toward your chest so that your feet are off the floor, and “draw” circles in the air — clockwise and counterclockwise — with your toes.
3. Stand one arm’s length away from a wall, put your hands on the wall at shoulder level, step back with both feet by another foot or so, and keep your legs straight as you lower your heels to the ground and keep them there for a minute. To get a deeper stretch in a calf, move the foot of the other leg forward, place it flat on the floor almost at the wall, and lean slightly into that other leg.

Remember to warm up before beginning any stretching.

Important Update on 30 December 2013: Stretch because it feels pleasant. According to Paul Ingraham, a Registered Massage Therapist and editor of ScienceBasedMedicine.org, in his myth-busting “Quite a Stretch” article, “Stretching research clearly shows that a stretching habit isn’t good for much of anything that people think it is.”