Shin Splints
The term shin splints, or Medial tibial stress syndrome, often refer to any pain at the front of the lower leg. Pain is typically felt on the medial side of the lower leg, arising from a number of causes.
Causes
Shin splints is a common complaint in athletes. This syndrome can be triggered by running and other sports with elements of jumping. The main cause of the pain is repeated landing and take-off from the surface. Other contributory causes include increased pronation, changing playing surface, changing type of shoes, altering running techniques or intensive training on hard tracks.
Symptoms and Diagnosis
• Tenderness over the inside lower half of the bone
• A certain degree of swelling
• A certain degree of irregularty over the shin bone
• Pain ceases at rest but returns on renewed activity
• Pain returns after activity and often is at its worse the following morning
• Pain is triggered when the toes or foot are bent downwards
• A redness over the inside of the tibia
Preventive Measures
• Gradual change to surface
• Incremental adjustment to the training intensity
• Correct clothing and equipment, i.e. shoes
• Warm-up is essential
Treatment
Treatment for Medial tibial stress syndrome requires reducing pain and inflammation, identifying training and biomechanical issues which may have contributed to the injury initially, restoring soft tissues to their optimal condition and gradually returning to sport.
• Our distinctive hands-on manual therapy
• Rest as early as possible to allow the injury to heal
• Should wait until there is no pain under load, and the tenderness over the shin bone
• Use ice to reduce pain and inflammation
• Stretch the lower leg muscles, i.e. calf, tibialis posterior
• Wear shock absorbing insoles in shoes to reduce the shock on the lower leg
• Maintain fitness by cycling or swimming, which are non-weight bearing exercises