You're away from FREE shipping!
Shin splints are also known as medial tibial stress syndrome. It is a common exercise-related problem where the muscles, tendons, and bone tissue surrounding the tibia or lower leg become inflamed. Pin point pain is commonly identified along the inner edge of the shin bone (tibia). Active individuals who make sudden changes in their training routines- with intensity, frequency, and duration- are the most as risk for developing shin splints. Increasing the number of days you exercise each week, changing the typical time spent doing each work out, running longer distances, and the surface in which you are performing activity (cement, turf, grass, uphill, downhill) all contribute to the load absorbed by the low leg during your exercise routine.
Shin splints are classified as pain along the front of the lower leg muscles. Shin splint pain is commonly described as an intense throbbing and aching sensation that may be felt before exercise and increases after an intense workout or run. There may be mild swelling in the area that can be aggravated by touching the sore spots.
When there is an increased amount of stress to the muscles surrounding the shin bone, the connective tissue may become inflamed and cause pain. Common risk factors associated with shin pain include flat feet, improper footwear, lack of warm up or cool down stretches, and weak ankle, hips, and core stability. Shin splints develop after the lower legs are overworked and continuing repetitive activities as such can increase injury beyond medial tibial stress syndrome and lead to stress fractures.
Shin splints occur if a person naturally has flat feet, the arch at the bottom of the foot is stretched and therefore lacks in elasticity and its ability to absorb shock. The impact from each step will make the foot's arch collapse, also known as over pronation which puts more stress and cause micro-tears in the muscle at the front of the shin. Orthotics can be customized for those with flat feet or recurrent problems with shin splints.
Support ,support, support! It is important to note the type of shoes that are worn during activity as it can contribute to increased pain in the lower leg. Proper running shoes are made to provide good support and absorb the body weight impact with each step. The bottom of the shoes may become worn down and overused after running so many miles or training in improper footwear. For long distance runners it is important to select a shoe with a wide base of support and thick heel support for shock absorption. If the training shoes are fairly new and not worn down, purchasing insoles would be an effective solution for shin splints to provide support to the arches as well.
Incorporating a proper stretching routine both before and after exercise is critical to prevent shin splints. It is important to warm up thoroughly before exercise and introduce gradual increases to training.
