Shin Splints

Shin Splints Can Be Extremely Debilitating!

They can be extremely painful…

They can make you have to stop running…

They can be very persistent…

Unless you understand what is going on any why!

What are Shin Splints?

Shin splints being an umbrella term for pain along the shin, much like “sciatica” of the lower back/hip.

True shin splints or also known as Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome (MTSS) is where the pain comes along the front/inside of the shin bone.

It is a bone stress injury.

The bone and the sheath around the bone are undergoing to much stress and resulting in pain.

At first it may only become apparent when starting off on your run/exercise and will ease off when you stop the bout of exercises.

If however left ignored and untreated it may become a continuous pain, and lead to a stress fracture along the back of that tibial bone.

So, there is nothing to be gained from the “Ah I’ll run it off” approach in this case.

Often times people can think they have Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome but that not may be the case. There can be similar issues going on in this area, such as:

Compartment Syndrome
Stress Fractures
Deep Calf Tendinopathies
Nerve Entrapments

This is why a thorough assessment is paramount.

Knowing what exactly is going on and why it is going on is key!

Adequate strength and flexibility are also important variables, and the addition of strength exercises such as the Nordic Hamstring Curl has been shown to decrease hamstring strains by 50%.

Although seen as a strength exercise it can significantly improve hamstring flexibility and even increase acceleration speed!

This is because it incorporates an “eccentric muscle contraction” where the muscle is lengthening as it’s contracting.

As you can see there is a long list of things to be assessed and addressed, this is why getting a thorough physiotherapy assessment is very important.

Non-modifiable risk factors for muscle strains are older age and previous muscle strain. In fact, there is up to a 600% increased risk of a hamstring strain if you have had a previous hamstring strain (Mendiguchia et al, 2012).

This increased risk can be explained by inadequate rehab, where players return to playing while they still are not at their baseline strength and flexibility measures.

You can get back playing without completing your rehab fully, but if you still have deficits in certain areas of strength and mobility you are leaving yourself at high risk for injury recurrence.

So although the previous injury is non-modifiable in one sense, there are steps you can take to reduce your risk of recurrence.

So What Can You Control?

The modifiable risk factors comprise a much longer list:

Recovery encompasses Sleep and Nutrition.

Most athletes are well versed in how to eat to recover, incorporating foods rich in protein and carbohydrates.

Often overlooked is the role of sleep. Research has shown there is a 70% increased risk of injury if an athlete sleeps for less than 7 hours per night.

Carrying A New Or Old Strain?

Why Not Apply For A Free Strategy Session

Interested in Improving Your Performance & Staying Injury Free?

Optimising Training Load is also vitally important.

If you’d like to find out more about injury prevention and performance, why not sign up to our FREE Email Series with the most up to date, evidence based advice and tips.