[Blarg]

I never got these when actively running and jumping rope for years on end as a teenager/young adult, but after laying off running for a few years, I finally got them. So I think that you can probably make yourself more vulnerable to them by not bearing loads/exercising with those muscles/tendons/ligaments. I guess that would suggest that you can reduce your chances of getting them by doing some non-impact exercises for a while.

Re: building up the muscles around the side of the shin/toward the front, you can do this pretty easily at your desk every day; just lift up your toes toward your knee and do some holds. Rock your foot a bit so the sole faces more outwards, then more inward. I did this a lot and still occasionally do, to build up muscle around my shin to help absorb impact from blocking kicks. Eventually you can get a pretty fair amount of muscle there by doing this, and it helps stretch your calves and tendons around there too, and probably strengthens the tendons a bit. Really couldn't hurt to try it.