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When shin splints develop, most runners instinctively look outward for a fix, new shoes, compression sleeves, softer terrain. These things can help, but recovery almost always starts somewhere more fundamental: understanding how the muscles in your lower leg are actually working. Shin splints is the common term for what clinicians call Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome (MTSS), and the mechanics behind it are worth understanding properly. The three types of muscle contraction Your muscles produce force in three ways: concentric, eccentric, and isometric contractions. You don't need to memorise the terminology, but grasping what each one does can make a real...

How long do shin splints take to heal? A runner's recovery guide One of the first questions runners ask when shin splints develop is whether the injury will eventually disappear, or is it something they'll always have to manage. The good news is that most cases resolve within a predictable window. But recovery only happens when the underlying stress on the tibia is properly managed, and the body is given the right conditions to adapt. Why recovery takes longer than expected Shin splints are best understood as a load management issue. The tibia is constantly remodelling in response to the...

If you're in the middle of marathon training and your shins have started complaining, this doesn't have to derail your race. Shin splints, or medial tibial stress syndrome (MTSS), are one of the most common overuse injuries experienced by marathon runners. Treat shin splints the right way from the start, and most people are back to full training within a few weeks. 

Let's dive into the different movements of exercise to improve your running There are various ways to do a particular exercise - push, pull, raise, lower, explode, slow down; the list goes on! On top of that, you can break down each exercise into its different parts: concentric, eccentric and isometric. Each phase has its benefits and challenges, which we will dive into now! What are concentric movements? Concentric movements occur when your muscle fibres shorten. Think "concentric" and "contract." Another easy way to think about it is that you're generally competing against gravity during this part of the exercise....

Do compression sleeves work?  Compression sleeves, compression socks... whatever you want to call them! If you're a runner, you undoubtedly have come into contact with someone who wears compression sleeves as part of their running and recovery. Some brands and runners go as far as saying they will support your recovery from shin splints. But do they actually help? Evidence from Clinical Study: Widely considered one of the top research groups into shin splints ("medial tibial stress syndrome"), Moen et al. are based at the University of Amsterdam. Moen at the team went as far as conducting a randomized controlled...