The right way to Prevent Shin Splints From Ruining Your Runs

Finding yourself hobbled with shin pain a number of weeks after starting a running routine can suck the joy out of a brand new fitness program. But there’s excellent news: You may take steps to prevent shin splints, a standard overuse injury steadily seen in people who find themselves latest to high-impact activities like running. 

Some people use shin splints as a general way of describing any variety of pain within the lower leg. Most frequently, nevertheless, they’re referring to what health care providers call medial tibial stress syndrome, an irritation  of your shinbone’s periosteum, the tissue surrounding bones that gives blood supply, Wealthy Willy, PT, PhD,  an associate professor on the University of Montana and director of the Montana Running Lab, tells SELF. 

Symptoms of shin splints include an achy pain that’s widespread throughout the inside one or each lower legs during a run or workout but typically subsides as you retain going or soon afterward, Brittany Moran, DC, CSCS, an authorized running coach for Nike Toronto, sports chiropractor, and elite marathoner, tells SELF. 

And pain is rarely something to take calmly: For those who don’t take steps to handle the issue, running through shin splints could cause the pain to worsen until it prevents you from running in any respect. What’s more, a more serious injury like a stress fracture—a tiny crack in your bone that requires rest to heal—can develop too. That’s why proper identification of the issue is so essential.

Fortunately, though, there are things you possibly can do each to forestall shin splints from occurring in the primary place. But before we get into all that, let’s dive into what exactly is happening in your lower legs that’s causing that discomfort in the primary place.

What are shin splints?

Shin splints are an overuse injury, meaning they’re the results of small, repetitive strain quite than a sudden accident or trauma. Though they’re especially common in runners, shin splints may occur in dancers, hikers, and soccer players, or anyone else doing high-impact movements.

Before we dive in, it’ll be easier to debate shin splints if we are able to do a fast anatomy lesson. There are two bones in your lower leg: the larger tibia, which is within the front of your leg, and the smaller fibula, which is situated on the skin of your tibia. You are feeling shin splint pain in your tibia, on account of the irritation of the bone tissue called periosteum, which acts as a sheath that covers your tibia. 

Though you’ll likely feel the pain on the inside your lower leg, the issue often begins closer to the front of your foot, Efren Caballes, DO, a sports medicine physician and cohost of the Able to Run podcast, tells SELF. Many runners—especially those whose bodies are still getting used to the mechanics of running—have some wobbling within the front of their foot as they move through their stride. This lack of control causes your arch to collapse a bit as you roll through your foot, then push off for the next move.