Shin Splints: Treatment and Prevention

Shin Splints. A lot of runners get them, they’re a pain in the butt, and they can be more dangerous than you might think. Many of my friends in cross-country and track have suffered from shin splints. Fortunately, I’ve been able to avoid them! I’ve had some shin pain here and there but never long enough, or bad enough to worry about.

Shin splints can occur at any time during the season. I have friends who have gotten severe shin splints during their summer training before the season even started. Sadly this affected their whole season, and made it hard for them to recover. Their shin splints could have been cause by a whole list of things. It may have been from their high mileage and small rest time, maybe because of the hard surface (cement trail), or maybe just the constant pounding motion against the ground that comes with non-stop running.

Usually shin splints aren’t dangerous but if they aren’t treated properly or soon enough they can lead to fractures. Some ways to prevent this type of injury would be to not overdo it, make sure to stretch, and wear the right shoes for your feet. I recommend going to a store that specializes in running shoes. The people know what they’re talking about and it’s usually a local store with nice people (I always like the support the little guys). According to http://www.active.com/running/articles/preventing-and-treating-shin-splints, “"Shin splints" is a general term for a condition caused by inflammation to the anterior or posterior muscles and tendons in the lower leg or adjacent soft tissue along the shin bone (tibia).” Once you have this injury, it is hard to get rid of it. The muscles need time to recover and it can be hard to give them rest. Because the pain is caused by inflammation in the tissue and muscles, the wisest thing to do is to stop running until the pain is gone.

            To treat shin splints runners are recommended to ice the shins, take an anti-inflammatory drug (ibuprofen), bike or use and elliptical instead of running, and ultrasound the shins. Compression sleeves are great too! They help soothe the shins and make it easier to exercise. If the pain isn’t too bad I think it’s okay to keep running, just maybe shorten the mileage or run on the grass instead of cement. This will give your shins a break, and hopefully keep them from getting worse.