Shin Splints-Causes, Treatment and Prevention

Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome (MTSS), more commonly known as shin splints, is the throbbing or aching pain felt along the shin bone that many runners experience in their careers. Shin splints develop over time and the pain can be felt during a workout or throughout the day.

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Causes

Increasing workout intensity to quickly

Excessive uphill or downhill running

Worn out shoes

Running on hard surfaces

Pronation

Poor running form

Prevention

Warm up: Highly overlooked, a warm up is important before any vigorous activity. An efficient warm up will increase muscle and body temperature which improves speed, strength and flexibility. It will also improve range of motion and the hormonal balance responsible for energy production. Not only does a warm up prepare the body physically, it helps psychologically as well; increasing focus and clearing the mind.

Stretching: Stretching lower leg muscles is important in injury prevention. When muscles are stiff they are more likely to be forced out of their range of motion. Keeping muscles and tendons flexible will improve performance and minimize small injuries.

Strengthen: A strengthening exercise you can do if you are sitting is to quickly raise and lower a foot while keeping your heel on the ground. Basically, tap your toes excessively for sixty seconds. Very soon you will feel soreness along the shin bone. Another easy exercise is to lift your leg and write the alphabet with your big toe. Walking around the house on your heels with toes pointed toward the sky will also strengthen the muscle that causes shin splints.

Treatment

Following the basic injury treatment of R.I.C.E will help in minor cases of shin splints.

Rest your shore shins. Take a break from running for a couple days and work on the exercising I talked about in prevention. If you can’t stand to miss these days of cardio, change your workout to a stationary bike or elliptical trainer.

Ice your shins by rubbing ice cubes up and down the bone, placing an ice bag over the area of pain or for the more intense, stick your legs in a bucket of ice water. Wastebaskets are the perfect size for icing from the knee down.

Compression: use an elastic wrap to support calf muscle to the shin. Special supporting sleeves can be purchased online or at athletic stores like Sport’s Authority.

Elevate your legs above heart-level while performing the other elements of R.I.C.E.

If pain continues after proper care and treatment, contact a doctor.