Shin Splints – How to Manage them.
For a long term results of shin splints, prevention steps need to be taken over short term cure alternatives. A sports medicine diagnosis coupled with a treatment plan is an important first step. Secondly, soft tissue therapy, massage treatments and stretching need to be applied.
The correction of bio mechanical abnormalities is also important if you have shin splints. So it is advisable that you see a qualified sports podiatrist for a complete foot-strike, or gait analysis and footwear advice. Podiatrists will be able to tell you if there are any concerns regarding the way your foot-strike or gait is functioning.
What can be done?
Tight muscles cause more injuries, hence it is important that your muscles are flexible. Make sure you do adequate warm up, an important step commonly overlooked by athletes and essential for the prevention of lower leg injuries and reduces tension from referral muscles to the shins. Also reducing the length of time you run on hard surfaces helps with shin splints. It would be wise to apply heat initially on the shins, if you have shin splints, until you are able to run pain free again.
Below is an example of calf stretches for treatment and assistance in shin splint prevention. 
In addition to these stretches, however, it is also important to stretch the whole leg, including the Shins, Achilles,Hamstring, Quads, lower back and Gluteus to release compensating muscles as well. If you think you suffer from shin splints, don’t hesitate to see your health practitioner to get diagnosed and treated. More information about shin splints, can be found on http://www.absolutehealing.com.au/shin-splints-what-are-they/
Stretching diagrams are provided by Sports HD, Download the app today to watch the video version to make sure you are doing the correct stretch. Stretch HD provides over 60 Stretches for every body part, from head to toe. There are equipment-based stretches as well as the more advanced stretches. So don’t wait till your health practitioner forces you to stretch, start today by downloading this free app from your app store or go to http://www.sportsmedstudio.com
Mike Manoukian