Yoga For Shin Splints: 5 Best Asanas To Try

Yoga for shin splints can help you remove damaged tissue that is immobilizing your shin and speeding up your recovery. (Image via Unsplash/ Nikola Murniece)
Yoga for shin splints can help you remove damaged tissue that is immobilizing your shin and speeding up your recovery. (Image via Unsplash/ Nikola Murniece)

Before getting to yoga for shin splints, let us understand what shin splints mean. Shin bones hurt from shin splints. Exercise, especially those that entail repetitive weight bearing or impact on the legs, such as jogging, is the cause of this pain. Tenderness, discomfort, pain along the lower leg, and possible swelling are all signs of shin splints.

Take preventative action if you notice shin splint symptoms to address the issue before it becomes a severe injury. It will frequently hurt to touch. Shin splints are typically treatable with yoga, ice, and rest.


Best Yoga for Shin Splints

Strength-based yoga poses can strengthen and stretch the tibia-supporting muscles, which can help prevent further injuries because these muscles' tension and weakness cause shin splints. Yoga for shin splints can help remove damaged tissue immobilizing your shin and speeding up your recovery.

Here are some of the best yoga for shin splints:

1) Pyramid pose

This yoga for shin splints is responsible for simultaneously stretching and strengthening legs. Using a yoga block to "raise the floor" is good as it offers extra support and gives the pose an airy, buoyant feel.

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Here's how to do the pyramid pose:

  • Walk your right foot in between your hands while still in Downward Dog.
  • Your hands should be on your hips, your right knee should be bent, and you should raise your torso to stand.
  • Use the inside of your right foot to place the block.
  • To preserve your balance, spread your feet apart in a train-track pattern. Maintain a square pelvis while extending both legs.
  • With your hands on the block, the ground, or your shins, bend forward from the hips.
  • Take five full breaths while maintaining a long neck and spine.
  • Push back into the Downward Dog pose with your hands on the floor. Repeat on the other side.

2) One-legged downward-facing dog pose

Even though Downward Dog helps the entire backside of the leg to elongate, this variation with one leg lifted enables you to sink a little deeper into the calf stretch, one leg at a time.

Check out the benefits and common mistakes of downward-facing dog pose.

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Here's how to do the one-legged downward-facing dog pose:

  • Start on all fours and spread your fingers wide. When you push the earth away from you and pull your hips up and back, away from your shoulders, you should be rooted with both hands down.
  • Please take a deep breath and lift your right leg (it doesn't have to be very high) straight up with your toes pointed down.
  • Let your left heel sag toward the floor as you continue to breathe.
  • Rotate your right foot counter-clockwise and clockwise to ease the ankle and shin.
  • Continue on the other side.

3) Soleus calf stretch

The considerable muscle right below the knee is the focus of this yoga for shin splints. Lean against a wall, fence, or chair.

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Here's how to do the soleus calf stretch:

  • For support, lean your hands against a chair.
  • Put your back foot forward. Keep your feet straight in front and flat.
  • Slightly flex your front knee. Bend your back knee while keeping your back heel down. Shorten your stride if maintaining your heel down becomes too difficult.
  • For at least 30 seconds, maintain the stretch. Aim to stretch three times daily, repeating the stretch two or three times.

4) Calf and Achilles stretch

This yoga for shin splints is a more advanced technique for stretching the rear of the entire lower leg, including the soleus, Achilles tendon, calf (gastrocnemius), and, to a lesser extent, the hamstrings.

Check out some of the most effective hamstring exercises you should do at home for more muscular legs.

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Here's how to do the calf and Achilles stretch:

  • Start the stretch while on your knees and hands.
  • Slowly raise your hips into an inverted V position while raising your knees off the floor.
  • You should feel a stretch in your calf when you bring the heel down to the floor while keeping one knee bent.
  • Your heel may or may not touch the ground based on your flexibility. Don't push yourself too hard.
  • For 30 seconds, maintain this stretch.
  • Continue with the opposite leg.

5) Low lunge pose

This yoga for shin splints is one of the best poses. It builds glute muscles, enhances stability, and stretches shoulders and chest muscles.

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Here's how to do a low lunge pose:

  • Lift the body halfway up from the Forward Fold position, stretching the spine and thrusting the chest forward.
  • Put your hands outside your feet, with your fingertips in line with your toes.
  • Step one foot back into a lunge while keeping your feet hip-width apart.
  • Back up far enough to place the front heel on the floor and the front knee over the ankle.
  • Raise the back of the thigh upwards while extending through the back heel.
  • Drawing the navel and chest forward by engaging the core and stretching the spine.
  • Keep your hips square to the front of the mat and level with the floor.
  • Maintain a downward shoulder angle and maintain a spine-aligned head and neck.
  • After remaining for 5–10 breaths, switch to the opposite side.

Conclusion

The goal of yoga for shin splints session is to reduce the tightness and soreness in your lower legs, especially along your shins, which are signs of shin splints. Utilize this to hasten your recovery after a run.

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