Shin splints, otherwise known as tibial stress syndrome, is characterised by pain in the lower leg. This pain is due to the inflammation of the muscles, bone tissue and tendons around the tibia.
Causes of Shin Splints:
- Overuse: attempting physical activity beyond your current fitness level can strain joints, bones, muscles and tendons.
- Sudden changes in physical activity load: this includes increasing the intensity, duration and frequency of exercise.
- High impact activities: such as running, especially on uneven or hard surfaces can lead to injuring the tendons and muscles around the shins.
- Inefficient foot biomechanics: can pull at the tendons and cause tearing as the shin muscles are involved in the maintenance of the foot’s arch.
- Unsupportive footwear
Treating Shin Splints:
- Replace high impact activities with low impact activities during recovery.
- Rest as shin splints are commonly caused by overuse.
- Ice the area for 10-20 minutes, multiple times a day.
- Compression bands may assist with preventing additional swelling
- Seek advice from your physiotherapist who can correct biomechanical factors or muscle imbalance which may be influencing your running technique or landing style.
Preventing Shin Splints in the Future:
- Functional warm up before physical activity.
- Reduce the intensity of your training sessions.
- Wear proper fitting runners.
- Gradually increase your fitness level and in conjunction with that your load.
- Cross-train with low impact activities such as walking, swimming or cycling.
If you are currently suffering from shin splints or want further advice please do not hesitate to call us on 9824 8188 or shoot us an email at active@activ8physio.com.au.