Shin Splints

I have long been prone to getting shin splints, and while I rarely
push myself hard enough for this to become a real medical condition,
it nevertheless interferes with extended walking and exercising. A few
years ago I met a guy while getting one of my Seeing Eye dogs. He was
a fellow student in the class and his profession was sports massage.
He showed me a little massage trick that has been a shin saver for me
ever since.
Before starting your exercise, use your thumbs to press steadily while
moving from the knee to the ankle, pressing along the muscle that runs
along the outside of your shin bone. My understanding is that this is
actually a group of muscles called the Tibialis muscles which connect
between the Tibia (shin bone) and the Fibula (a slender bone which
runs alongside the Tibia from knee to ankle.) The Tibialis muscles
are used to move the foot. To find the spot at which to start this
massage, put both hands around your leg just below your knee with your
thumbs together just to the outside of your shin and then flex your
foot. You will feel a definite movement that let's you know where to
begin. Relax your foot and then press both thumbs in, slowly working
your way down to your ankle. Repeat this at least three times for
each leg and voila! no more shin splints!
Another massage therapist told me that at the beginning point of the
massage described above, is a pressure point known as the three-mile
march point. The story is that Chinese foot soldiers use to stop
every three miles to press this point to gain energy to continue
marching. I usually find this point, press and hold for a half a
minute and then continue the massage down to my ankle. I admit to
being skeptical at first, but I was having trouble keeping up with my
new, young dog in class and was ready to give it a try. It worked then
and has continued to work for me ever since.
Now when I get ready to use the treadmill, I first do my stretches and
then give each leg the massage described above and I just never have a
problem with tightening muscles any more. It's definitely worth
sharing!
For more in-depth information about shin splints, check out:
http://www.eorthopod.com/content/shin-splints