What is shin splints? 🤔
Shins splints is an umbrella term for exercise-induced pain in the shins.
It can cause sharp or dull pain along the shin or surrounding areas and can be tender to touch. Sometimes it warms up with movement and sometimes it worsens.
You may be familiar with terms like stress fracture, tibial stress syndrome or compartment syndrome, it’s our job to decide which one is at the root of the problem!
Shin splints is common in runners but can also happen to anyone active. It normally comes on following a change in running surface, in footwear, in mileage or sometimes it pops up for no good reason.
Having flat feet, a very high arch, stiffness in your calf muscles or very flexible hips can affect how your body absorbs force and can predispose you to suffer from shin splints.
In some cases, arranging a bone scan or MRI can be a good idea to exclude a more serious issue or stress fracture.
On a positive note, shin splints can respond well to treatment and all we need to do is work out what is causing the problem and how to fix it.
We’ll use a combination of taping, strengthening exercises, hands on treatment and managing your activity levels to combat the issue and make that marathon running goal a reality!
