Preventing shin splints from happening is the easiest and least painful way to treat them. Tips on avoid shin splints forever, and how to treat them if they do sneak up on ya!
What’s up, JRD Nation?! At Jump Rope Dudes, we see it all the time, and it’s sad–people get so pumped to learn jump rope and do the thing that they go way too hard too fast, and what happens?
You guessed it–they get injured and side-lined for who knows how long before they can resume exercise.
Don’t let this happen to you! Shin splints are so common they make up for 60% of all lower leg overuse injuries and can result in pain and tightness with detrimental effects on your training.
Here, we’ll cover what causes shin splints, how do you prevent them, and how do you treat ’em?
What Causes Shin Splints?
Shin splints refers to pain you feel in the shin bone, which runs vertically from your knee to your ankle in the front lower part of your legs. The pain you feel is caused by several factors, including overexercise, improper footwear, and flat feet.
However, there are ways to completely avoid shin splints and still exercise regularly.
Let’s cover the basics.
7 Ways to Avoid Shin Splints While Jumping Rope
1. Don’t Jump Too High
You don’t need to be Michael Jordan for a regular bounce. In fact, anything more than 1-2 inches off the ground is just a waste of your muscle effort and energy.
2. Don’t Jump Too Often
Start slow, especially if you’re a beginner or it’s been a while since you’ve trained hard. We have always said to start with just 3-5 minutes of jumping a day, 3X per week until you feel your endurance has built up. If you push your body too hard, you will NOT be rewarded with a shredded body faster; you’ll just get injured.
3. Wear the Right Shoes
Improper footwear and flat arches can play a big part in how likely you are to develop shin splints. If you get shin splints regularly, consider visiting a podiatrist or athletic footwear shop where they can assess your foot and shoe needs.
4. Bend Your Knees When Jumping Rope
You’ve got to be light on your feet and always maintain a slight bend in the knees to protect your joints and prevent injury. Remember, stay on the balls of your feet and toes; think of your body absorbing shock and springing back like a slinky.
5. You’re Not Warming Up Properly
You have to warm up and stretch to prevent your muscles from seizing up during an intense workout. It’s worth it! Our warm-ups take about 5 minutes and will keep you jumping rope injury free for years.
6. Hydrate
There’s nothing worse for muscle recovery than dehydration. Seriously, it’s dangerous for several reasons, including hindering the body’s thermal regulation system, altering water transfer among your cells, and interfering with actin-myosin cross-bridge formation–a.k.a. Your muscles lose their power! Stay hydrated, my friends.
7. Use a Jump Rope Mat
Not only is a jump rope mat a lifesaver for your knees and joints, but it will also do a fantastic job of cushioning your hops against developing painful shin splints.
Shin splints are especially common among beginners and people with a lot of weight to lose. I recommend reading the invaluable tips in the ONLY 10 Things That Matter For Weight Loss if you’re suffering from shin splints or injuries.
More Tips for Preventing Shin Splints
The priority is to stretch and strengthen your leg muscles regularly. The best time to stretch is when your muscles are warm after a workout. Jumping rope frequently, in small intervals, will allow you to build your muscular strength in the small muscles that run along the shin bone. Small and consistent gains allows you to avoid shin splints while still getting to your goals.
Alternate with low-impact activities. If you’re dedicated to your jump rope journey, then spending your day off shooting hoops may not be wise. Take rest days that offer lower-impact activities like walking or swimming for a while. You might also read up on these 5 Common Jump Rope Injuries and How To Avoid Them.
Treating Shin Splints
If you do develop shin splints, there are several treatment options to help relieve your pain.
- Rest and Ice: Rest your muscles and apply ice to the area a few times daily. This will help reduce inflammation and pain.
- Compression and Elevation: You may get relief from inflammation by compressing your calf muscles with a compression wrap or socks and elevating your legs.
- Physical Therapy: This can help you stretch and strengthen your muscles wholistically to prevent future shin splints.
- Massage: Many types of massage will aid in muscle soreness recovery and reduce inflammation and pain.
- Medication: Over-the-counter pain medicines can relieve pain and inflammation temporarily.
- Foam Rolling: Foam rolling tubes, as well as different items like a Lacross ball, can provide great ways to dig into tight spots and roll out the muscles stimulating blood flow.
Stay Injury-Free with the JRD App
Shin splints can be BRUTAL! And a frustrating condition for serious JRD ninjas like yourself.
However, there are ways you can avoid shin splints when you take the time to stretch, rest, and recover. Protect yourself from shin splints and long-term injuries and enjoy a healthier, more active lifestyle–with the JRD App!
Not only do all of our workouts offer modifications for different ability levels, but you can also ask questions about injury prevention and recovery in our amazing Community!
Hundreds of commercial-free daily workouts, with new ones, added every Monday-Friday.
Best of all, you get to try it for FREE!
Start with our Ultimate 7-Day Beginner Jump Rope Challenge, and work your way up to our INTENSE JRD Max! It’s up to you. You’ll never run out of new workouts or get bored when you roll with the Dudes.
Visit JumpRopeDudes.tv to start your free trial NOW!
That’s it for today, JRD family. Take care of those shin splints so you can keep jumping with us for a long time! And remember…
DO THE THING!
The Jump Rope Dudes