Chances are you already know the amazing benefits of foam rollers for your daily runs. If you want to continue running at your best without suffering from injuries and increase your recovery and performance, you need to include foam rolling into your training routine. And just like stretching, foam rollers are essential tools to support an increase in blood flow in a specific area of your body, especially after a long run. This can also help you get back to running faster and with less pain.
A great topic that I wanted to discuss today is all about shin and calf mobilizing exercise and as well as some myofascial release. Maybe some of you have experienced ?shin splints? before. It?s an injury that occurs due to over usage of the shin muscle (tibialis) for an extended period of time ? a common injury among runners. The usual advice I’ve heard is to stop running for the meantime and let them heal on their own. There are actually things that you can do to avoid this throbbing pain such as myofascial release and self-massage. This will help you recover faster.
One of the best ways to mobilize the front of the shin muscle is through the use of cylindrical-shaped tools, popularly known as foam roller. These foam rollers are designed to reduce inflammation, which can alleviate shin splint pain. So here?s how to ?roll? out your shins:
Position your hands and knees with the foam roller underneath you. Bring your knee upward towards your belly, and carefully place your shin on the foam roller. Rather than placing the bone directly against the roller, angle your shin so that the outer front side of your shin is in contact with the foam roller.
Slowly roll up and down your shin, keeping your non-contact leg firmly on the ground.
If you?re hitting the spots with intense pain, stay there for a little bit longer. The more weight you apply, the more you?ll feel it, the deeper the massage you?re going to get.
Switch and repeat the procedure on the other side.
You can prevent getting injuries by wearing the proper athletic shoes designed specifically for your sports. As for the runners, you must observe your stride. It would also benefit you to have your gait analyzed from a running shoe store before buying the right footwear.
As the saying goes, ?An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure,? well, I guess that?s totally right.
