Irritated Shins

Q: My problem is shin splints. My shins hurt in the middle of my legs towards the outside of the shin. It is not extremely painful, and more irritating than anything else. What do you recommend to alleviate the pain? Will I ever be pain free or will I always experience this no matter what my running habits?

A:  You may experience pain either due to your running position - you may be over striding or sitting in your running stance - or you are carrying a bit too much extra weight. With your exercise habits I would look at the former first.

Either have some on take a look at your running position or have some one film you with a video camera and you look at your stride to see if you can identify where you can improve. Make sure that you are standing tall in your stride. You will be running in a more biomechanically sound position and that will lead to less impact on your legs. Keep me posted.

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