Shinsplints is a term that describes the pain in the shin area, the front of the leg between the ankle and knee. Non-athletes don't usually experience shinsplints but if you've recently begun an exercise program that includes vigorous walking jogging, aerobics, or bicycling, you may have experienced them. According to one study, shinsplints account for 12 to 18% of running injuries.

How to Strengthen you shin? Shin pain is often caused by weakness of muscles in the shin area. Any new exercise program can often cause discomfort. But, by incorporating several lower leg-strengthening and stretching movements into your exercise you can avoid shinsplints.

Causes of Shin Pain:

• Overuse when working out or running
• Poor conditioning, not doing some warm up exercise.
• Running on hard surfaces.
• Wearing inadequate shoes.
• The most serious cause of shin pain is thought to develop when the flow of blood to the front of the shin is reduced by leg muscles that are enlarged from exercise.

Prevention:

• Choosing the right athletic shoe can help save your shins from injury. Wearquality shoes with an air or gel sole for cushioning. Those who take aerobics two times a week should replace their shoes every three months. Six-day-a-week trainers should get new shoes every two months.
• Running and jumping surfaces should also be chosen carefully. Asphalt and concrete are much harder on shins than crushed gravel, wood floors, or dirts.
• Stretch before any workout (this heats up your body's tissues, which prepare them for impact) and then warm up-five minutes of slow jogging, for example. And after any exercise, make sure you stretch the calf muscles.

• Alternate high-impact activities like running and dancing with lower-impact exercises such as cycling and swimming.
• To help protect yourself from shinsplints, do a gentle gliding massage stroke on your lower legs for five minutes before every workout. Massage warms up the muscles and helps remove fluid buildup caused by inflammation.
• Put shoe inserts in your shoes to minimize the strain on muscles and tendons on the front and sides of your lower leg.

Natural Remedy:

• Look for a massage therapist who specializes in sports massage or works with athletes. Deep massage of the shin area helps eliminate fatigue and encourages healing by increasing blood flow to the affected area.
• If you're suffering from shinsplints, rest for six weeks (you can switch to a low-impact exercise as long as it doesn't cause pain).
• Soak the legs on warm water with epsom salt.
• To relieve swelling, ice the affected areas for 20 minutes, one or two times a day.
• The supplements calcium, vitamin D, magnesium, glucosamine(2,000 mg a day) and chondroitin sulfate (1,600 mg a day) can also speed healing by helping to repair your connective tissues. Take them for four to six weeks.
• Foot care orthotics such as shoe inserts, insoles, and arch supports are devices that are placed inside a person's shoes to absorb stress the foot receives. Foot care orthotics help to realign the foot to their natural position, thereby alleviating pain caused by athletics, obesity, and standing on your feet for long periods of time.

Warning: If you have nagging pain after six weeks, see sports-medicine doctor who can evaluate your feet and skeletal alignment and check for more serious problems.