A proper warm-up before beginning training or competition is key to injury prevention and performance. Here is a sample warm-up that you can perform before you start swinging a club. We warm-up so that we can swing, not swing so that we can warm-up. 

Before you start throwing, it's important to warm up properly. As Coach Marty (FIS Varsity Baseball) puts it succinctly, "You warm-up to throw, not throw to warm-up." A quick but thorough warm-up not only prepares your body for throwing but also helps prevent injuries.

Check out this video from Mike Reinold, a professional baseball athletic trainer and physical therapist, demonstrating a simple yet effective warm-up. Make this part of your routine every day before you start throwing.

Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome (MTSS), pain of the lower leg, often along the inside of the shin, is the most common injury that runners face. 13-17% of runners will suffer from this painful condition, commonly referred to as shin splints. 

Although there may be many factors contributing to the cause of MTSS, overuse is considered the leading cause. Simply said, the tissues are loaded more than their loadability. 

Other factors include anatomy, biomechanics and the volume and structure of a running program. 

Prevention of MTSS may be key, as recovery may be long (around 70 days), and no treatments have been proven to be effective compared to rest. Tips for prevention include: wearing orthotics, stretching of the lower leg and foot muscles, strengthening of the lower extremity and trunk muscles, wearing well-cushioned shoes and a gradual build-up of the running program.

See the post on the Rehab at Home page to learn how to make your own ice cups to perform to treat your shin splints at home.