A shin splint occurs when the small muscle at the front of your lower leg becomes inflamed. As a sports therapist, I run into these mean little beasts on a regular basis; in fact, the moment a client complains of lower leg pain, I feel the telltale soft swelling near the bottom of the shin and start thinking about treatment with a shin splint. .
Shin Splint Treatment It usually starts with me asking the client what training they’ve been doing. I hear a litany of running for miles on rough roads in dodgy shoes, trying to run a 5K without having done any pre-training, and worst of all, without warming up, cooling down, or stretching. Then I threaten to beat them to death with a spoon if they don’t do as advised and I give them a sports massage on the area. They rarely argue with me about shin splint advice; how to get rid of them as fast as possible is your first priority so that you can continue with your training.
shin running The problems are common and affect both men and women. Not just athletes, either: I see a lot of part-time gym goers and people who run for fun suffering from shin splints.
When asked for treatment advice, I give the following:
- Vary the surfaces you run on: roads are built for cars, not humans.
- Never increase speed and mileage at the same time, one or the other, and no more than 10% at one time.
- Check your footwear regularly and replace running shoes every 6 months or so.
- Have your running shoes fit correctly at a specialty store.
- Always warm for at least 5 minutes.
- Stretch after, instead of before. You may just want to shower, but this is the best 5 minutes you’ll ever spend.
- Rest and ice splints on the shins.
- Pedal or row to take some of the tension off your shins.
- If running hurts STOP!
- Go to a physio and get treatment.
Prevention is better than cure. Most shin splints are caused by overuse, so vary your workout and don’t neglect strength exercises to build muscle, it will help. Squats, lunges, and working on a step will help, but don’t jump!
If you work on your core stability, that will take some of the stress off your legs. Try a Pilates class once a week as part of your training and you’ll be amazed at the difference it will make in your running form.