Injuries Athletic Therapists Treat- A Monthly Series
Welcome to our monthly series!
Our goal is to share with YOU how Athletic Therapy can help you recover from common injuries you or a loved one may be experiencing. Each month will showcase and discuss a new condition athletic therapists see and treat each day
Enjoy!
Shin Splints
I’ve always wondered who came up with the name shin splints. Did they experience pain so bad it felt like their shin bone was shattered into tiny shards? Or was early treatment for shin pain to splint the leg(s) until the pain went away? In any case, somehow the term shin splint came about to describe pain to the lower leg. However the correct term of this condition is medial tibial stress syndrome (MTSS), which presents as pain over the medial (inside) edge of the shinbone.
The tibia and fibula bones make up the lower leg and form the ankle joint at the distal end. The tibia carries most of the body weight at approx 80% and its job is to transfer force during walking, jogging or running. The fibula bone only carries 15-20% of the weight and provides structural support to your leg. If you ever hear of a professional athlete playing on a broken leg, they are talking about the fibula bone.
Shin splint pain is due to inflammation in the area caused by repetitive microtrauma. It is usually due to overuse and is common in athletes who participate in repetitive activities, especially with running and jumping. Large increases in load, volume and high impact exercise can also play a part in MTSS.
Factors that can contribute to medial tibial stress syndrome include weakness of leg muscles, shoes that provide little support or cushioning and training errors, such as running on hard surfaces or overtraining. Malalignment problems such as flat feet, tight calves or excessive mobility in the foot may also lead to MTSS.
The main symptom of shin splints is pain along the shin bone that can range from a dull ache to more sharp intense pain. Typical this pain is found on the inside border of the shin bone. The pain itself may vary with onset; there may be pain during early activity that subsides as exercise continues, or may persist with continued activity. Usually the pain stops when a person is at rest, though in more severe cases the pain can occur throughout the day without activity.
Other conditions such as stress fractures, muscle strains, and compartment syndrome, which all have a common symptom of lower leg pain, may be called shin splints by a layman’s person, but are not in fact shin splints or medial tibial stress syndrome and are separate health conditions.
If you think you may have shin splints, it is important to get it officially diagnosed and treated by a health care professional, such as an athletic therapist. An x-ray may be required to rule out any stress fractures. Otherwise management is conservative focusing on rest to the area and activity modification. Shoe support, orthotics or a strengthening or flexibility program may benefit to resolve the issue.
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