Shin Splints: Symptoms, Causes and Treatment

Author:

Dr. Gururaj S Puranik, Senior Consultant Trauma and Orthopaedics

SHIN SPLINTS is the name for pain in the front of the lower legs. Common in people who do a lot of running.

Shin Splints Symptoms

The pain tends to:

• Begin soon after starting an exercise
• Gradually improve when resting
• Dull and achy to begin with, but becomes increasingly sharp

Shin Splints Causes

• Running or repetitive weight-bearing leads to inflammation of the tissue around the shin bone.
• Predisposing factors
• A sudden change in activity level – such as starting a new exercise or suddenly increasing the running distance
• Running on hard or uneven surfaces
• Poorly fitting trainers
• Overweight
• Flat feet
• Tight calf muscles or weak ankles

Shin Splints Treatment

• Rest
• Stop the activity that causes pain for 2-3 weeks
• Ice packs for 10 minutes every few hours
• Painkillers
• Switch to low-impact activities – Eg cross-trainer or swimming and yoga

You can start to return to activities over the following few weeks once the pain has gone

Prevention

• Wear trainers with appropriate cushioning
• Run and train on flat, soft surfaces
• Introduce any changes in activity level gradually
• Mix high-impact exercises like running with low-impact exercises like swimming
• Lose weight if you’re overweight
• Warmup before exercising and stretch after exercising especially stretches of calves and leg muscles