The anterior tib. is hardly ever isolated in any bodybuilding exercise that I know of. It is also inherent that adding weight to your frame is going to cause additional stress on all of your intrinsic muscles, including the anterior tib.
Last year I tore the soft tissue connecting my anterior tibialis to the tibia... In turn, this caused me to miss out on my whole football season... Anyways, I learned a whole lot about this injury and some things associated with it.
First of all, there is a difference between anterior and medial (front and inside) shin splints.
Yes, anterior shin splints are better prevented by the strengthening of the anterior tibialis.
There are many factors which contribute to the onset of shin splints. Here they are: *indicates area most affected*
-Running on hard surfaces. *A and M*
-Heal striking, or running flat footed. *M*
-Lack of arch in the feet. (Being flat footed) *A and M*
-Muscle imbalance (gastrocnemius over anterior tib.) *A*
-Improper warm-up and stretching.
-Lack of conditioning (being out of shape)
If you are to experience what you think is shin splints, here are a few things that I would advise.
Rest your legs. Apply ice liberally to affected area. Use a compression wrap, like an ace bandage, around the area. And also elevate the lower legs while at rest. And use anti-inflammatory as needed.
To prevent this injury:
Strengthen the anterior tibialis with dorsiflexsion exercises, pulling the toes upwards. Make sure your running surface has some give. Do not go for a long jog on the concrete. Focus on putting your weight on the balls of your feet, preventing your heels from striking the ground. You may also opt to utilize an alternative cardio-respiratory option like an elliptical, bike, rower est... Buy quality shoes for your application, and make sure they have sufficient arch support. Warm up gradually, and be sure to thoroughly stretch the soleus, gastrocnemius, and anterior tibialis.
If symptoms of shin splints persist with the above precautions and treatment mentioned, be sure to see a doctor. Also, a podiatric doctor may be able to assist with custom orthotics which helped greatly in my case. Do not continue activity when shin splints are occurring. This may lead to many complications, like stress fractures along the anterior edge of the tibia…
There is also a condition known as compartment syndrome. This is basically when the epi/perimysium is fairly inelastic in the anterior part of the lower leg. This inability to stretch properly poses serious problems when the muscles are used and blood flow increases. Basically the muscle gets pumped to a certain point. When it reaches its limit the internal blood pressure of the muscle bundle exceeds that of the body’s blood pressure. This results in a loss of blood flow and circulation through the muscle while impairing the flow around it. The pain symptoms are similar to severe shin splints, but persist far after the exercise has subsided, and are usually accompanied by discoloration and even bruising/ hemmoraging around the lower leg area........This is very uncommon and is definitely not what’s going on in this case, but I thought I would put it in here.
:type: :type: :type: