Running form and shin splints: what to check on video

The form patterns most often linked with shin splints are a foot that lands ahead of the hip, a heel reach with the toes pulled up, and a low cadence. The fourth thing to check is not form at all. It is a sudden jump in miles. A side-view video shows the first three in one clip. Your training log shows the fourth.

Before anything else. A video shows the stride, not the cause. Shin pain has several causes and some of them are serious. If pain persists, gets sharp in one spot, or changes how you walk, see a clinician before you change your running.

What shin splints usually means

Shin splints is the everyday name for pain along the inside edge of the shin bone that comes on with running. The tissue along that edge takes load every time the foot hits the ground and the calf works to control it. When the load per step is high and the number of steps jumps, that tissue complains.

Form affects the load per step. Training volume affects the number of steps. Both matter.

What to check on video

Film from the side and pause at the moment the foot touches down. Look at four things.

1. Where the ankle lands. If the ankle is well in front of the hip, the leg is reaching. A rough marker from a phone clip is more than a quarter of your leg length ahead of the hip. See how to stop overstriding.

2. The toes. In a reaching heel strike, the toes are pulled up hard toward the shin. The muscle that does that runs down the front of the shin. It works hard at every landing and then has to control the foot as it slaps down. That is the pattern many runners with shin pain recognise on video.

3. The shin angle. A shin leaning back toward you means the heel is out front. A shin near upright means the foot is under you.

4. Cadence. Count the foot strikes in 10 seconds and multiply by six. At easy pace, under about 160 usually goes with reach. See how to raise cadence without a watch.

Now open your training log. Did weekly miles rise by more than about 10 percent in the two or three weeks before the pain? Did you add hills, speed or a new surface? That jump is often the trigger, whatever the form looks like.

Why the reach matters for shins

A foot that lands far in front hits the ground at a steeper angle with the toes up. The heel takes the impact. The front of the shin has to slow the foot down as it slaps flat. Then the calf has to pull the body over a foot that started too far forward. Two groups of muscles that attach along the shin bone are both working harder than they need to.

Bring the foot under the hip and the foot lands flatter and softer. The slap goes away. The load per step drops. That is why cadence and reach are the first two things most coaches change when shins complain.

The one cue

Quiet feet.

Do not think about the toes. Do not try to land on the forefoot. Try to make less noise. To run quieter you have to land closer to your body with a softer knee, and that is the whole fix. Use it for 30 seconds, four times per easy run.

A 4-week plan

Keep weekly miles flat or slightly lower for four weeks. Three sessions a week of 15 to 20 minutes. Stop any drill that hurts the shin during or after. This is close to the plan Caden builds when foot landing is your lowest dial.

Weeks 1 and 2: land under you and build the calf.

A-march, 3 × 30 seconds. Foot down under the hip, flat, quiet.
Slow calf raises, 3 × 12. Two seconds up, three seconds down. Add a bent-knee set of 2 × 12 to reach the deeper calf muscle.
Ankle rocks, 2 × 10 each side. Knee forward over the toes, heel down.
Single-leg balance, 2 × 30 seconds each side.
Two easy runs with the cue "quiet feet" on for 30 seconds, four times.

Weeks 3 and 4: add turnover.

A-skip, 3 × 20 metres on a soft surface.
Quick-feet strides, 4 × 15 seconds at cadence plus 5 percent. Walk back fully.
Glute bridge, 3 × 12.
Step-ups, 3 × 8 each side onto a low step.
One easy run with the cue on for every other kilometre.

Film again at the end of week 4. Same angle, same pace, same place.

How to check it with Caden

Tap Run a new analysis and set up a side-on shot. Prop the phone at hip height, 6 to 8 metres away, and run past at easy pace for 10 to 20 seconds.
On the results screen, read the Where your foot lands dial. A low score with "Reaching too far ahead" means the ankle is landing out in front.
Read the cadence chip beside the dials. Caden counts steps per minute from the video, so you do not need a watch.
Tap Breakpoints, then Foot strike. Look at the landing ankle against the hip and at the angle of the shin.
Read the coach's tip for the cue Caden picked. Open the Exercises tab for a 4 or 8 week plan.
After four weeks, open Stats and tap Foot landing to see the trend. Then Before and after to compare the two foot strike frames.

Caden reads position and angle from 2D video. It cannot measure impact force, bone stress, pronation or what your foot does inside the shoe.

Mistakes

Adding miles while changing form. The change is meant to lower load. More miles raises it.
Forcing a forefoot strike. This shifts load to the calf and Achilles and does not fix the reach.
Jumping cadence by 10 percent or more. Go 5 percent, hold for four weeks, re-film.
New shoes as the whole plan. Shoes change the feel. The reach stays unless you change the stride.
Ignoring one-spot pain. Pain in one small spot on the bone, pain at rest, or pain that changes your walk needs a clinician, not a drill.

FAQ

Does overstriding cause shin splints?

Overstriding raises the load on the front of the shin and the calf at every landing, and it is often found in runners with shin pain. A video can show you the overstride. Only a clinician can tell you whether it is the cause in your case.

Will raising cadence help shin splints?

A higher cadence shortens the stride and brings the foot under the hip, which lowers the load per step. Many runners find shin pain settles as the reach goes. Raise it by about 5 percent, not to a fixed number.

Should I switch to a forefoot strike for shin splints?

Not as a first step. Forcing a forefoot landing with the same reach moves the load to the calf and Achilles. Fix the reach first and let the strike settle on its own.

Can I keep running with shin splints?

Mild pain that stays the same or fades during a run is something many runners manage with lower miles and a form change. Pain that gets worse, sits in one spot, or changes your walk means stop and see a clinician.

Which view should I film?

Side view. It shows reach, shin angle, toes and cadence in one clip, and it is the view Caden analyses.