The improper walking technique may also lead to the development of shin splints. Although the condition is not serious, but may cause pain and also hampers the ability to walk. Various techniques may be adopted to reduce the risk of developing shin splints while walking.
How Do You Stop1 Shin Splints When Walking?2
The risk of shin splints is increased when the person is not walking properly along with the correct posture and with flat feet. Thus, various measures can be applied to reduce the risk of shin splints while walking.
Proper Walking: Walking should be proper and with customized footwear. Walking with flat feet increases the risk of developing shin splints.
Take Care Of Surfaces: The surface of the floor should be horizontal and flat. Rougher the surface below the foot, chances are high that there is a pressure on the leg muscles leading to shin splints.
Posture While Walking Uphill Or Downhill: The posture of the body should not be leaned forward while walking uphill or downhill. This will create an extra load on the legs leading to muscle damage and shin splints.
Avoid Long Distance Walking: Long distance walking if one goes should be avoided by the people who are having the history of shin splints. Chronic trauma on the shin may lead to shin splints.
Avoid Brisk Walking: Brisk walking should also be avoided by the people who are at risk of developing shin splints.
Warming Up: Do not start any long distance walking or brisk walking without warming leg muscles. Without warming the muscle prior to exercise may also increase the risk of shin splints.
Develop Muscle Strengths: The muscle of the legs is primarily hurt due to shin splints. Thus, exercises which help to provide strength to the muscles are incorporated in the routine.
Shin Splints Causes3
Following are the risk factor and causes of shin splints:
Repeated Trauma: The muscles of the leg or tibia are under pressure as they carry the load of the body and helps in providing mobility to the body. Any chronic or repeated trauma may cause pain on the inner edge of the tibia.
Starting New Sport: Any sport, which requires high use of leg muscles, may cause injury to the muscles and puts pressure on the bones. Thus, prior to playing any new game, stamina should be developed to play that particular game.
Wrong Footwear Or Flat Feet: Walking or running with the flat feet may cause shin splints. To avoid this problem, customized footwear should be used.
Running On Hard Surfaces: Running on hard surfaces puts immense pressure on the legs and its muscles as the hard surface do not effectively absorbs the shock. This may cause shin splints.
Uphill Or Downhill Movement: If proper body posture is not maintained during uphill or downhill movement, the risk of development of shin splints increases.
Running Without Warming Up: Muscles should be warmed up prior to any exercise in order to increase the flexibility of the muscles. Warming muscles reduce the risk of shin splints.
Pre-Existing Foot Problems: If the person is suffering from any other foot problem, the risk of shin splints increases as the tibia and related muscles are already under stress.
Tight Leg Muscles: If the calf muscles of the person are tight than normal, it may cause shin splits as there is a high chance of rupturing the muscle. For such people, it is advised that they should not perform any work that involves stress on the calf muscles.
Improper Training: Every exercise should be done under the guidance of trainer as doing exercise with improper technique may cause an imbalance in the muscles leading to shin splints.
Low Muscle Flexibility: The people having low flexibility of muscles, due to various reasons, have a higher risk of developing shin splints.
Conclusion
Risk of shin splints can be stopped by using correct walking techniques, proper posture while walking uphill or downhill, warming up prior to long walk or brisk walk and developing muscle strengths.
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