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Monday, July 8, 2013

Shin Splints: A Mystifying Injury



Anyone who has taken up running as a sport, a hobby or has been dragged into running a 5K has undoubtedly experienced some kinds of shin pain and been diagnosed (through self or medical professional) with "shin splints" but rarely are given a full explanation as to what it is and why it hurts.  Shin pain is generally experienced in one of two locations (sometimes both).  Typically seen in shorter distance runners the pain with be right on the front (anterior) part of their shins and are often times extremely tender to the touch.  The other common location of "shin splint" pain is along the inside (medial) border of the shin.  This is often seen in long-distance runners, anyone who has greatly increased activity, or people who are new to the sport and may have gotten a little over ambitious.


What is a shin splint?
What makes this injury difficult is the multiple issues that could be causing the problem.  The most extreme issues that may be causing you shin pain is an actual stress fracture or other stress injury to the bone.  This is another hard diagnosis as many of them do not show up on x-ray until they actually begin healing, which typically occurs and shows in 2-4 weeks if at all.  If you have the means, often times a MRI or Bone Scan is useful for diagnosing this injury.  Other causes include but are not limited to periositis (bone pain), medial flexor tendonitis, fallen arches, or calf tightness (especially the lateral gastroc). 


What can I do to help?
If this has become a chronic pain and their is extreme pain to the touch or at rest at one specific location along the bone see a physician for further examination.  Many times for runners a simple fix is purchasing a new pair of shoes that are designed with more arch support.  An alternative to this is purchasing a neutral shoe and adding an insert that will increase arch support.  Common sense would think that adding both would be an even better solution but often this leads to over correction of the issue and causes further and unnecessary problems.  Receiving more arch support allows the muscles that run on the inside of your shin (tibia) to go back to their natural position and not be put on excessive stretch as they were without the support.  This is a quick fix to a much larger problem and one that I wouldn't recommend solely relying on but utilizing if it helps keep you going in the short term.

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