Shin Splints Hurt Like Hell — Here's How I Got Rid of Them For Good

I start by rolling out my calf muscles with a foam roller, 10-12 rolls on each leg. Going one leg at a time lets you put your full weight on each calf, which gives you a deeper stretch. If you don't have a foam roller, sub in a tennis or lacrosse ball, which can actually be more effective, according to Dr. Pandya. Set it on the floor and roll your muscles across it like you would with a foam roller.

Then I'll flip over to do the muscles surrounding the front of my shinbone, making sure to shift my weight to get the muscles on either side of the bone. You can do both at once, as in the picture, or go one at a time by shifting forward into a low plank with your legs straight out behind you, resting your shins on the foam roller. Cross one shin over the other and shift to roll across the outside of the shin, then the inside. You can use a tennis or lacrosse ball for this stretch, too. I do another 10-12 rolls for each leg.

After foam-rolling, I switch to the Stick, which is a "more focussed and easy-to-handle" muscle roller, Dr. Pandya says. Unlike a foam roller, you hold the Stick in both hands and manually roll it across your relaxed muscle. I do 25-30 strokes on either side of my shinbone and then on the calf muscle itself, as shown in the video.

It takes about five minutes to stretch with a foam roller and the Stick, and the results are worth it. I did these stretches once a day when I had shin splints, and now I do them before every run and workout for prevention. I've gotten a flare-up here and there, but shin splints haven't caused me to miss a run or workout in five years.

Lots of other factors go into keeping your lower leg muscles healthy and shin-splint-free, like wearing supportive shoes, strengthening your core, and mixing up your workouts so that no movements get too repetitive. If none of these fixes are making a dent, see a doctor; sometimes pain that seems like shin splints is actually symptom of something more serious, like a stress fracture or osteoporosis. Bottom line: keep your lower leg muscles loose and flexible and learn from my mistake — shin splints can and definitely should be treated.