If I were to ask what the most important part of a person’s body is, most people would probably say their legs. You walk with them, run with them, conduct excruciating exercises with them; you need your legs to do practically anything. But conducting so much exercise and putting so much weight on them will eventually run your body down, won't it? Because I find the legs, including the feet, so important I will be analyzing ways to prevent injuries such as staying clear from shin splints and pain in the heels. Being in the Army I found that the legs and feet are the most important part of the body they want us to care for. You can go days without changing your shirt in the field but it is mandatory you change your socks every day. For college students that live on campus, using your feet to get everywhere is especially true. Students walk to class, walk back to their dorm, walk to their cafeteria, walk to their library, walk to their gym, and walk back to their dorm. In an article by Kroemeke, A, an estimated daily steps range from five thousand to eight thousand on average and a mile ranges anywhere between two thousand and two thousand five hundred. For a long distance runner like myself as well as an average athlete a total of 15,000 to 18,000 steps daily is the estimated amount. Calculating correctly that is about four miles added to the average daily steps. So much activity on the lower legs can eventually cause problems which include shin splints and heel pain if they are not taken care of properly. Medial tibial stress syndrome, also known as shin splints, is an acute pain or tenderness in the shinbone or tibia which is the large bone in front of the lower leg causing irritation, stiffness, and hurting of the area before and after a workout. There can be two kinds of pain. The first is on the anterior side of the tibia a little above the ankle and below the knee known as anterior shin splints. The second, which includes pain on the posterior side of the tibia, is usually right above the ankle on the back side where the calves are. MTSS can also cause foot over-pronation, excessively tight leg muscles, and a decrease of range of motion in the joints. In the article “Shin splints: Causes and treatments” by Henderson he explains, “The medical term is medial tibial stress syndrome (MTSS) or an inflammatory condition of the front part of the tibia, or front of the lower legs, causing pain to radiate in that area.” People at risk include runners of course as well as females in general, people who tend to stand on their feet all day, and people who put pressure or heavy weight on the ligaments. Plantar fasciitis is a pain or inflammation of the plantar fascia which goes across the bottom of the foot and connects to the heel bone. Diana Kohnle says in her article, “Plantar fasciitis pain, resulting from overuse, affects the heel. It occurs when the fibrous band of tissue connecting the heel to the front of the toes becomes inflamed. That band is called the fascia.” People tend to not be familiar with plantar fasciitis because of its complex name, in all simplicity it is heel pain. The radiating pain is at the bottom of the foot on the heel, tenderness follows as well as hurting before, during, and after exercise if it is chronic. Diana Kohnle also says, “This is most common in women and people who are overweight, frequent running or walking for exercise may increase your risk of developing the condition, people with flat feet or very high arches are at greater risk, and standing or walking on hard surfaces for long periods also may increase your risk.” Biologically, medial tibial stress syndrome and plantar fa