Your complete guide to avoiding and treating shin splints

Commonly found in athletes, runners and dancers, shin splints often happen when one overloads their leg muscles, tendons and shinbone. Whenever you engage in a high impact activity with repetitive exercise on your lower legs, you are bound to suffer from shin splints, especially when you are just starting out with intense physical activity. 

Even though shin splints are common, they should not be ignored. It’s possible for the niggling pain to progress into a full-blown fracture. 

What are the symptoms of shin splints?

The term “shin splints” itself refers to the pain along the inner edge of the shinbone (tibia), which is the large bone in the front of our lower leg. 

First, there will be noticeable pain, tenderness or soreness along the inner side of the shinbone. Mild swelling may even occur in parts of the lower leg. Some people experience that the pain subsides when they stop physical activity or exercise. There can also be muscle pain in the front area of the lower leg, often where the muscle attaches to the bone.

How do I treat shin splints? A quick cold therapy guide

When you experience two to three of these symptoms, it is best to assume that you have shin splints. You should also use an effective and popular treatment called the RICE method. RICE (rest, ice, compression and elevation) is a time-tested therapy treatment for many common injuries, including shin splints. 

The ice step in this method is really crucial because cold therapy can help reduce swelling and ease discomfort and pain. There are plenty of DIY methods out there on how you can create your own ice or gel packs for shin splints. However, when you’re already suffering from shin splints, making a DIY ice pack is the last thing you’d want to do. That’s why it pays to have something specifically created for your pain, like this Shin Gel pack by Magic Gel.

Most leg ice packs on the market only have a short-term goal in mind: to ease your leg from the discomfort of shin splints. Some ice packs, like Magic Gel’s Shin Splint recovery kit, were created with effective, long-term and time-saving recovery in mind. First, not only does it contain two shin ice packs with adjustable straps that snuggly wrap around legs and shins, but it also comes with two other accessories crucial to recovery. 

The first accessory is a medium-strength resistance stretch band which helps you build back strength to the surrounding areas of the affected shin. The second accessory is the “secret weapon” for quick recovery from shin splints: the cryoball. This freezable massager is used to both cool and relax the muscles and tendons around the target area. 

How can I prevent shin splints from developing?

Even if there are products created for the relief and recovery of shin splints, it won’t hurt to be aware how to prevent shin splints from happening to you in the future.

All injuries, no matter how trivial or small, can still debilitate you and prevent you from carrying out your day-to-day tasks. 

So here are some ways to prevent shin splints:

• Allot time for warm-up and preparation. 

Shin splints are often experienced by those who are new to high-impact physical activity. When your joints and muscles are forced into movements to which they are not normally accustomed, this may often result in shin splints. Apart from gradually increasing your exercise level, it Is important to observe proper warm-up and preparation before any type of physical exercise.  

Here are a few exercises you can do specifically to warm up your lower body, in particular your shins:

Point and Flex – Stand with hands on your hips. Shift your weight to one leg as you raise one of your legs straight out in front of you. Alternate this movement with the outstretched leg. Point your toes away from your shin, and then flex them back towards the shin. Repeat 10-15 times and then do the same with the other leg. 

Heel Drop  Stand on a step with your feet in a staggered position, and position the toes on your right foot on the edge of the step. Shift your weight to your right leg, and bend your left knee in order to lower your right heel down below the step. Do this 10-15 times and do with the other leg. 

Toe Curl — Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your right foot over a towel. Using the toes on your right foot, gather the towel and slowly pull it toward you.  Release and repeat. Do this 10-15 times and switch with the other foot. 

• Avoid running or working out on hard surfaces

Running on a hard surface such as cement is easily one of the contributors of joint pain and shin splints. Try to run on trails, where earth, grass and even mud can soften the blow to your joints. While running on a treadmill does not offer the same freedom and feel as that of running outdoors, it can sometimes be better as treadmills are not as solid as concrete. 

• The right footwear helps

It is found that running in shoes without proper soles or shoes that have lost their cushioning can lead to shin splints. One of the reasons why running is a popular sport is because it’s a “low-maintenance sport”, in that you don’t have to purchase a lot of gear to participate. But one thing that you must not skimp on is finding a good pair of running shoes. As a rule, you should replace your running shoes every 300 or 400 miles (roughly 500 to 750 kilometres) — this translates to about four to six months of usage for someone who runs 20 miles per week.

As much as everything is easier bought online these days, running shoes is one of those things that you should actually see and try before buying. There are some shoe stores that now offer fitness technology in order to help you find out which type of running or workout shoes you should get. They normally have you walk on a surface that gathers your gait and weight distribution. Often, these walking or running pads are also good indicators for underlying health issues. You will definitely walk away with just a good pair of running shoes.

• Take time to rest

Shin splints are commonly found in those who have just started out running or doing strenuous activities and push themselves to do more every day. Beginner runners are advised to avoid running on two consecutive days. It’s important to switch up your workout routine as well. For instance, you can run twice a week and do weight training three days in the same week. Alternating your high and low impact workouts can provide more benefits than just giving your joints (and shins) a rest. They can actually make your workouts more effective because the human body tends to plateau when you do the same fitness routine over and over.  

• Maintain a healthy weight

We acknowledge that this common sense tip is easier said than done. Every time your foot hits the ground, the shock equivalent that your joints (knees) experience is 2.5 times your body weight. Needless to say, when you maintain a healthy and lighter body weight, there will be less jarring impact on your joints, therefore shin splints can be avoided. 

• Check your running form

Even if you do all these tips to avoid shin splints and you don’t run properly, you will be bound to have injuries beyond shin splints. With running, it’s all about how your feet land. Ideally, your foot should land midsole and then roll through to the front of your toes. Many runners mistakenly land on their heels, which stops the body’s natural forward momentum. This can create much stress and impact on lower legs, which can very likely lead to shin splints. 

A great way to check your running form is to have someone take a video clip of you running and compare the way you run against experienced runners or fitness trainers on YouTube. There are many “how to run properly” videos out there!

We hope that these tips have helped you understand how you can avoid shin splints. Sometimes, though, no matter how vigilant you are in following these steps, injuries are inevitable when it comes to sports, so you must always be prepared. What’s your experience with shin splints? Come have a chat with us and we can help you run and train with more confidence in your steps!