5 Shin Splints Exercises for Runners.

You increase your mileage, add a few faster runs, or start training again after some time off.

Then your shins start aching.

At first, the discomfort may only show up during the beginning of a run. Eventually, however, it can start lasting longer or returning after every workout.

For runners dealing with shin splints, stretching the calves and hoping the pain disappears is rarely the whole answer.

The right shin splints exercises can help improve calf strength, ankle mobility, foot control, and single-leg stability. However, exercise works best alongside something just as important: managing how much running your legs are currently being asked to handle.

Here are five exercises runners can use as part of a more complete rehabilitation plan.

What Are Shin Splints?

“Shin splints” is the common name for medial tibial stress syndrome, or MTSS. It typically causes pain along the inner portion of the shin and is especially common in runners and other athletes involved in repetitive impact.

Symptoms often begin after a change in training, such as increasing mileage, running more frequently, adding hills or speed work, or returning after a break.

You may notice:

• Aching along the inside of the shin
• Tenderness when pressing on the area
• Pain during or after running
• Symptoms that initially improve as you warm up
• Increasing discomfort as training continues

Although strengthening can be helpful, no single exercise program is a guaranteed treatment for shin splints.

That is why rehab should combine appropriate exercise with training-load management and a gradual return to running.

Exercise #1: Knee-to-Wall Ankle Mobilization

Running requires your ankle to repeatedly move forward over your foot.

If ankle mobility is limited, your body may change how it absorbs and distributes force while running.

How to Do It

1. Stand facing a wall.
2. Place one foot a few inches away.
3. Keep your heel firmly on the floor.
4. Slowly move your knee toward the wall.
5. Return to the starting position.
6. Repeat for 10–15 controlled repetitions.

If your knee reaches the wall easily without your heel lifting, move your foot slightly farther away.

You should feel a comfortable stretch or movement through the ankle and calf—not sharp shin pain.

Exercise #2: Bent-Knee Calf Raises

The calf muscles help control and propel your body during every running stride.

The soleus, in particular, works heavily during running and can be targeted with the knee slightly bent.

How to Do It

1. Stand near a wall or counter for balance.
2. Bend your knees slightly.
3. Keep that knee position while lifting both heels.
4. Pause briefly at the top.
5. Slowly lower your heels.
6. Repeat for 10–15 repetitions.

Start with both legs.

Once that becomes easy, your program may progress toward single-leg or weighted variations.

The goal is not simply to make your calves feel tired. You are gradually increasing their ability to handle the repeated forces involved in running.

Exercise #3: Tibialis Anterior Raises

The tibialis anterior runs along the front of the lower leg and helps control your foot as it contacts the ground.

Strengthening it can complement calf and foot exercises during a lower-leg rehabilitation program.

How to Do It

1. Stand with your back against a wall.
2. Place your feet slightly in front of you.
3. Keep your heels on the ground.
4. Lift your toes and forefoot upward.
5. Slowly lower them.
6. Repeat for 10–20 controlled repetitions.

As the movement becomes easier, you can increase the repetitions or use additional resistance.

Strength exercises can be useful, but they should be part of a broader rehabilitation plan rather than treated as a stand-alone cure.

Exercise #4: Single-Leg Heel Raises

Running is essentially a repeated series of single-leg movements.

Therefore, eventually your rehabilitation should challenge each leg individually.

How to Do It

1. Stand on one leg near a wall or counter.
2. Slowly lift your heel off the floor.
3. Rise as high as you comfortably can.
4. Pause briefly.
5. Lower with control.
6. Repeat for 8–15 repetitions.

Compare how each side feels.

Is one calf noticeably weaker? Do you lose your balance? Does one heel rise significantly lower?

Those differences can help guide your progression.

Exercise #5: Single-Leg Step-Down

Your shin does not work alone when you run.

Your ankle, knee, hip, and trunk all contribute to how your body controls each landing.

A step-down challenges several of those areas at once.

How to Do It

1. Stand on a low step with one foot.
2. Slowly bend your standing knee.
3. Lower the opposite heel toward the floor.
4. Lightly tap the ground.
5. Push through the standing leg to return.
6. Repeat for 8–12 controlled repetitions.

Focus on maintaining control instead of dropping quickly.

As you improve, you can gradually increase the step height or add resistance.

Eventually, runners may progress toward hopping, landing, and more demanding single-leg exercises when symptoms and strength allow.

Why Shin Splints Exercises Are Only Part of the Solution

You can have an excellent strengthening program and still struggle if your running workload keeps exceeding what your legs can tolerate.

Imagine going from running six miles per week to 20 miles within a short period.

Adding calf raises does not automatically make that jump manageable.

Shin splints frequently appear after changes in training volume or intensity, which is why adjusting your running schedule is an important part of rehabilitation.

Depending on your symptoms, that could mean temporarily changing:

• Weekly mileage
• Running frequency
• Speed workouts
• Hills
• Long-run distance
• Running surface
• Recovery between sessions

The goal is not necessarily to stop running indefinitely.

Instead, you want to find an amount of running your leg can tolerate and gradually build from there.

Can You Run With Shin Splints?

Sometimes, but it depends on the severity and behavior of your symptoms.

If pain becomes progressively worse while running, changes your gait, or remains substantially worse afterward, continuing the same training plan is probably not a good progression.

You may need to temporarily reduce mileage or substitute lower-impact conditioning while rebuilding strength.

Then running can gradually increase as your symptoms and capacity improve.

A physical therapist can help determine whether you need to stop running temporarily or whether modifying your training is enough.

When Shin Pain May Be More Than Shin Splints

Not every runner with shin pain has medial tibial stress syndrome.

Bone stress injuries can cause similar symptoms and may require a different recovery plan.

Get your symptoms evaluated if you have increasingly focal pain in one small area, pain that is worsening despite reducing activity, difficulty walking normally, or pain occurring at rest.

If you are unsure, do not try to run through worsening shin pain.

When Can You Return to Normal Running?

There is no single mileage number or timeline that works for every runner.

A return-to-running progression should consider factors such as:

• Pain with walking
• Shin tenderness
• Calf strength
• Single-leg control
• Tolerance to hopping
• Current running volume
• How your shin responds the following day

You may begin with shorter, easier runs or run-walk intervals before rebuilding continuous mileage.

Speed work, hills, and longer runs can then return gradually rather than all at once.

Shin Splints Rehab at Physiopros Performance Rehab

The best shin splints exercises are not simply the ones that make your calves stronger.

Your rehab should help prepare your entire lower body for the amount and type of running you want to do.

At Physiopros Performance Rehab in Parsippany, NJ, we can assess ankle mobility, lower-body strength, single-leg control, running mechanics, and training demands to determine what may be contributing to your symptoms.

Depending on your needs, treatment may include strength training, mobility work, gait analysis, balance exercises, and a gradual return-to-running plan.

If shin pain keeps returning whenever your mileage increases, schedule an evaluation and develop a plan that helps your legs tolerate running again.

Call Physiopros Performance Rehab at (973) 265-8621 or request an appointment by clicking here.

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