Shin pain or shin splints describes a variety of generalized pain that occurs in the front of the lower leg along the tibia (shin bone). Shin Splints are considered a cumulative stress injury because they often occur after repeated stress or jarring of the bones, muscles and joints without proper conditioning or recovery between workouts. The pain of shin splints is typically located on the outer front portion of the lower leg (anterior shin splints) or pain on the back inside of the lower leg (posterior medial shin splints.
What Causes Shin Splints?
The pain of shin splints is caused by trauma to either the muscles or bones of the lower leg.
Muscle trauma (exertional compartment syndrome) is often related to overtraining or excessive running on hard surfaces. Repeated use makes the muscles swell and puts pressure on the fascia that covers the muscles in the lower leg leading to pressure and pain.
Bone trauma to the lower leg can result in stress fractures. Constant pounding the leg bones may cause microscopic cracks and fractures in the tibia and fibula (lower leg bones). Rest is needed to repair these cracks, but without adequate recover, these cracks continue to grow and become a fracture. The result is acute pain and a long recovery.
Beginning runners are at increased risk of shin splints and stress fractures because they are not used to the high impact running has on the muscles and joints of the lower leg and foot. Running on hard surfaces (especially with worn, poorly cushioned footwear) increases stress on the muscles, joints and bones and is another cause of shin splints. Excessive pronation or other biomechanical problems can increase the risk of developing shin splints.
Other causes of shin splints include:
Symptoms of Shin Splints
How to Treat Shin Splints
Rest is the best treatment for shin splints. For immediate relief use the R.I.C.E. treatment method for controlling pain and inflammation. Returning to activity must be done gradually with non-weight bearing activity (cycling, swimming) to your workouts until pain-free.
Returning to activity must be done gradually or you risk re-injury. Change your routine and cut your exercise time and intensity so that you have no discomfort before, during or after exercise.
If your shin pain continues after three or more weeks, you should consider seeing you physician for a proper diagnosis.
Sometimes preventing common sports injuries is beyond our control, but many times sports injuries are preventable. Some injuries, we bring on ourselves because we’re not conditioned for the activity. Work out daily and get double benefit — enjoy your weekend activities and garner the health benefits. Every workout should start with a gentle warm-up to prevent common sports injuries. Getting warmed up increases blood flow to the muscles, gets you more flexible, and could decrease injuries. Overuse injuries are common and preventable, Don’t come out and hit the ball for an hour after not playing for a while., Whether it’s hiking, running, or team sports, do some “pre-participation stretching” first by lightly working the relevant muscle groups before the activity. And learn to recognize when you’ve already left it all on the field. Stop when you are fatigued, Muscle fatigue takes away all your protective mechanisms and really increases your risk of all injuries.
Professional athletes often seek better, newer treatments outside the teams facility. We have treated players from the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and the PGA. Of course we can't list the name of the players for security reasons but below is a list of the teams that they play for. And yes we have to treat the players from teams opposing our home town favorites, Sorry Guys. Go CARDS
