Shin Splints

"The pain starts when I begin running, but eases off after a while. My friend had some therapy for shin splints, maybe that's what I need?"

"I'm training for a marathon but haven't kept to the schedule. On  Sunday I ran for 20 miles through the city, to 'catch up'. I now have terrible pains in my shins - I'm worried I may have shin splints "

There really is no such syndrome as 'shin splints', although it is a commonly used terminology. As a diagnosis, it is almost as exact as using the term, 'foot pain'.  When people refer to 'shin splints' they are generally referring to pain in their 'shins', towards the inside of the leg. The pain spreads across quite a wide area of the lower leg and usually affects those people who are involved in intense exercise. It is in fact, self inflicted.

There are a number of specific disorders covered by this title, including  fractures, muscle strains or tears, nerve entrapment and artery entrapment.  Most commonly however, it refers to a condition entitled, Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome. (MTSS) . 

The pain experienced with MTSS is worse at the beginning of training and subsides during the session. As the condition progresses in time, the pain is present with less activity and it may even occur when resting. Running on hard surfaces makes it worse as does suddenly increasing the intensity or duration of training. It can develop into a stress fracture due to repeated trauma on the leg structures

It is more common in women, in whom it is 3x more likely to advance into a stress fracture. The cause is often associated with biomechanical abnormalities. 

To recap; pain in the lower leg is not a 'shin splint' but one of many different disorders.

So if you are suffering with this,

·         stop training,

·         rest the area,

·         use ice on the leg immediately after exercise and,

·         seek the advice of a podiatrist or biomechanist who will guide you through the recovery process.