No one likes to be misunderstood, and the same goes for our muscles. The muscles on the outside of your lower leg are the victims of this way too often. This group of muscles is known as the peroneals, with the most important one being the peroneus longus. According to textbooks, these muscles evert your ankle (turning your foot out to the side), which is true. However, in the context of running, these muscles are most needed when your foot is on the ground in order to maintain enough ground contact for your big toe to push off properly. So, to put it simply, the function of the peroneals has more to do with controlling your foot movement while on the ground, then it does everting your ankle.
Understanding this has huge ramifications for how to get rid of and prevent shin splints, foot pain, overpronation, and knee pain. In today’s video, I demonstrate three exercises to progress in this area, my suspicion is that they will seem rather goofy at first, but give them a try and see how helpful they may be! In the third exercise, I use a prop that can either be figured out on your own, or use a half roller, or a rocker board, check out the links for examples. I am not currently an amazon affiliate, but who knows in the future.
Please let me know how these go and if I can answer any questions you may have!