Shin Splints

What are shin splints?

Shin splints is a generic term used to describe pain in the shin region, either on the front side, inner side, outer side, or both sides of the shinbone. Medial tibial stress syndrome (MTSS) is the most common cause of shin pain. People who play sports or go running are prone to this injury. The pain is usually felt during exercise, with more intense pain at the beginning of the activity and again after a period of time.

What causes shin splints?

There are usually several factors that contribute to the development of MTSS:

• Being overweight

• Sudden change in training load (e.g. too much, too soon)

• Inappropriate footwear

• Foot structure and function

• Calf muscle tightness and weakness

• Poor lumbo-pelvic (core) stability

• Running technique

Treatment for shin splints

After working out what is causing your shin pain, your podiatrist will implement a specific treatment plan. In most cases, training load needs to be modified to get the pain under control. But we do it in a way that means you don’t have to stop exercising. You’ll be back to running in no time!