Shin Splints Running Injury
Shin splints are a very common running injury that happens to a lot of people who are either starting or resuming running or are stepping up their training. What physically happens when you have shin splints is that a thin membrane layer that is attached to the bone, called periosteum is separating from the bone. The periosteum contains numerous nerve endings that make this process extremely painful.
Shin Splints Causes
So what are some of the causes of shin splints? The most obvious cause is running. Whether it’s too hard or too often, the repeated stress of pounding the pavement will cause the muscles attached to the periosteum to pull on the membrane, slowly tearing it away from the bone (ouch).
There are numerous factors that can add to the stress of running. As I mentioned before, just starting a running routine can stress the muscles that aren’t used to performing that activity. Weight can also play a big factor in applying a lot of stress to the shin muscles as they propel you forward. Too much pronation of the tibia (do your feet point out when you run?) while running can also impose unnecessary stress on those muscles (this can easily be fixed with the proper shoes or othotics)
Shin Splints Symptoms
Any of the following could indicate that you have shin splints:
- Pain on the inside of the shin during and/or after running. This pain could subside while running only to return later (although it doesn’t always have to).
- Pain the morning after you run. This can especially happen if you run at night. The muscles will tighten up over night and the first dozen steps can be excruciating.
- Swelling of the shin. This could be visible swelling or just an inflammation that makes the shins sensitive to the touch.
- If you suffered a contusion, there could be bumps under the skin on the shin.
- Any sort of pain when you extend your toes. Along with your calf muscles, the shin muscles are responsible for extending and retracting your foot.
Some of these symptoms could also be symptoms of similar injuries. Sometimes shin splints are confused with a stress fracture of the tibia or posterior tibial tendonitis.
Treatments for Shin Splints
The good news is that most treatments are very simple and can be done at home.
The first thing (and may go without saying) is to reduce or stop running for a while. The repeated stress will prevent the shin from healing. Instead try some cross-training exercises like stationary biking or swimming.
The next step is to start icing. To reduce the swelling you’ll want to apply ice to the shin evenly for 10 minutes once every half-hour. An easy way to apply ice and keep from over icing is to use an ice cube. As the icing proceeds the ice will melt eventually down to nothing which should be sufficient. To help reduce the swelling you can take an anti-inflammatory drug (like Advil or Aspirin) that will help reduce the inflammation response your body is having.
You’ll also want to start stretching. In fact you should stretch every chance you get. Any calf stretch will also stretch the shins. By standing approximately arms-length away from the wall and moving one leg forward you can shift your weight forward to stretch the calf (make sure to keep your back heel down on the ground). In this video the woman does the described stretch to stretch her shins.
Other good stretches include hanging your heels off of a step to stretch your calves and sitting on the floor with your legs out straight and pointing your toes away from your body, holding it for a ten count, and then point them back towards your body and holding it again for ten.
Many people have found that a shin splint compression wrap
will both relieve the pain and allow them to continue training. These wraps will redistribute a lot of the weight that is put on the shin while running lessening the impact on the muscles.Others believe that a good shin splint treatment is taping the shins. There is specialized body tape that is easy to use, or you could just use medical tape, to tape the shins to relieve some of the stress that your weight puts on your shins. The video below goes into how to tape shins for shin splints.
Shin Splints Prevention
Many believe that prevention is the best treatment and avoiding this pain is possible. To prevent shin splints there are a few things you can do:
Run Smarter – If you’re just starting out running ease into it, try to alternate between running and biking or stationary exercises. If you’ve been running don’t increase your mileage by more than 10-15% per week.
Get Proper Support – Make sure you have good running shoes and if you have a problem with pronation, you can get custom orthotics to correct the posture or your foot. These orthotics typically come from a podiatrist or other foot expert.
Run on Alternative Surfaces – Running on the sidewalk is by far the most stressful pavement you could be running on. Asphalt is better, but not by much. If you’re lucky enough to have some nature trails around, try running on them for a few days. You could also go to your local high school and run on a rubberized track which are the best because they’re designed for running (you just have to get used to going in circles). At a minimum you should at least be running on the shoulder of the road; that material is much softer and forgiving.
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[...] them, you can place your foot against a wall and slowly apply pressure (as demonstrated in the shin splints running injury, or some people swear by calf stretching devices such as the Prostretch Heel Stretch Devicewhich [...]