Shin splints are a runner’s worst nightmare.  It’s a catch-all term that most commonly refers to runners suffering from pain along the medial tibia.  It can also progress into stress reactions as well as afflict runners along the antero-lateral portion of the tibia.  Commonly, rehab focuses on modalities to calm the pain, strengthening exercises for the lower leg and hips, and stretching.  Many patient’s see symptom reduction, but many also see a return when they begin to increase their mileage again.  It’s frustrating for the therapist and even more so for the runner.

I want to focus on a small change you can make to runners that pays huge dividends when they are experiencing pain along the antero-lateral tibia.  To effectively treat this, you need to understand a basic premise, the tibialis anterior is typically working too hard during the gait cycle and we need to change that.

Let’s take a look at a runner and the exact...