Many runners at some point or another find themselves asking the question of how to cure shin splints.
This is a serious injury that plagues a number of runners and unless you are taking the time to figure out exactly what must be done to put this injury behind you, the chances of you continually having to battle it will be high.
Here are the main factors you should know about how to cure shin splints.
Identify The Causes Of The Pain The first step towards learning how to treat shin splints is to identify the causes of the pain.
It's important that you do this since if you never fully realize exactly what is causing you pain, you won't be able to pinpoint the absolute best approach towards solving the pain, therefore really overcoming the problem In some cases the pain could be caused by improper running shoes, while in others, it's improper running technique.
Some people just have a tendency to suffer from pain regardless, which is typically caused by just the way their body is aligned.
Think About Alternative Activities The second thing you should be doing is thinking about alternative activities that you can do when the shin splints pain is present.
Since you absolutely must lay off running if you want to learn how to cure shin splints, having a back-up form of exercise to turn to is a good thing.
Since you'll likely get antsy if you can't exercise at all, you can then do the alternative form of exercise without risking your shin splints progressing.
Good exercise examples include biking, rowing, the elliptical, or swimming.
Begin A Strengthening Program Third on your quest to learn how to cure shin splints should be starting up a strengthening program.
This will enable you to strengthen the ligaments that surround the shin bone, which could also be causing the problem.
When these ligaments are not strong enough, you could find that one kneecap has a tendency to pull towards one side, which sets off the tracking of the knee.
This will then cause grinding, which is a sure fire way to get yourself battling shin splints.
By doing the strengthening program you will help to prevent this from happening, so of all the things that will help stop shin splints, this is the biggest one.
Monitor Your Recovery Finally, the last thing you should do is monitor your recovery.
If you do feel good enough to start running again, slowly get back into it, but if at any point you notice that you're starting to feel pain once again, immediately stop and back away.
It's better to catch the shin splint pain early on and start treating immediately since then it may only be a day or two where you deal with it.
If you try and push through it and continue to run, you will be asking for trouble and it's very likely more pain will be on the way.
So be sure you're keeping these points in mind.
While you may feel hopeless right now that there is actually a way to permanently stop the pain, if you take the steps to learn how to cure shin splints permanently, you will see the results you're looking for.