- Running
- Sprinting
- Pole-vaulting
- Playing tennis
- Hiking downhill
- Running on uneven surfaces
- Any activity that involves performing on a hard surface
- Any activity that consists of sudden changes in speed
All of these can aggravate the shin.
"Shin splints" is an umbrella term for pain in the front lower leg. Shin splints are also called Tibial stress syndrome or Medial tibial stress syndrome. Shin splints are a symptom of other issues within the lower leg. Your shin splints could be caused by small stress fractures in your tibia. Your shin splints could be caused by overuse. If you're overusing or putting a lot of pressure on the tibia and surrounding muscles you'll have swollen and inflamed muscles and tendons pulling on the bone. Sometimes your swollen and aggravated muscles and tendons can press against the nerves in the foot and may cause numbness or even the feeling of weakness. Another cause of shin splints is "flat feet" or feet that are overpronated. If you have overpronation in your feet then everytime you put weight and force down into your arch you're pulling on muscles and tendons as well as over stretching in unwanted areas.
How to make your shin splints feel better.
The main action you can take to help your shins heal is REST! A consistent pounding and heavy impact on the shin leaves it no room to heal. In order for them to get better you must give them a break. While you're on that break take out the bag of frozen peas and start icing! Some doctors recommend to ice for 20-30 minutes every four hours, two to three consecutive days or until the pain goes away. Personally I would use a short session of heat and ice just to promote fresh blood flow into the area. For me it speeds up healing time and it can do the same for you too! Taking out the inflammation will help ease the pain. You can also use an over the counter anti-inflammatory like ibuprofen to take down the swelling as well. If you've gone to the doctor and know that you don't have stress fractures go and get a massage from a good therapist. This is critical for the tibalis anterior (the shin's muscle) that the therapist work laterally or from the outside in and never moving away from the bone! You can also go out and purchase "The Stick" from almost any running store. You can roll it up and down your anterior tibialis and calves to relieving some of the discomfort.
I hope you can cope with your shin splints a little better now! Check out TherapureBODYworks.com for some more self-help tips on various conditions. Happy healing!