Experiencing pain along the inner edge of your shin? Then you know the pain of shin splints. Research found that more than one in three athletes experiences this condition. Here’s how to prevent shin splints (medial tibial stress syndrome) and what treatment can help bring relief.

What Puts Your Shin at Risk

Shin splints occur when the muscles, tendons and bone tissue surrounding your shin become inflamed due to overuse. This can happen to anyone, but you’re at higher risk if you run or dance a lot.

Other risk factors include:

• Exercising on tennis courts, basketball courts and other hard surfaces such as concrete
• Having flat feet or rigid arches
• Suddenly increasing the frequency, intensity or duration of physical activity
• Wearing improper or old footwear while exercising

How to Prevent Shin Splints

To reduce the risk of future shine pain, try these tips.

• Consider cross-training. You’re more likely to experience shin splints if you perform the same exercises, day after day. Avoid this by changing your routine. A sports medicine provider can help you determine which low-impact activities, such as swimming and cycling, could fit your needs.
• Get on the grass. Anytime you have the opportunity, get off hard surfaces and practice on grass or other soft surfaces. Your shins and knees will benefit.
• Pace your progress. When increasing how often, hard or long you exercise, take it slowly. Increase by no more than 10 percent in a week to reduce your risk of shin splints.
• Spring for new shoes. Wear basketball shoes when playing basketball and running shoes when running. Buy new shoes with arch support when your shoes lose their shock-absorbing ability.

When Shin Splints Sneak Past Prevention

In the event you feel the sharp or dull ache of shin splints in one or both legs, you can oftentimes care for shin splints at home.

• Chill. Apply ice to your aching shins 20 minutes at a time, multiple times a day until the pain goes away.
• Medicate. Take over-the-counter medication to reduce swelling and pain.
• Rest. Avoid any activity that causes shin pain until the pain goes away. Then ease back into activities to avoid worsening or prolonging your pain.
• Stretch. Perform exercises that stretch the front part of the shin.
• Support. Talk with an orthopedic specialist or your primary care sports medicine provider about shock-absorbing insoles for your shoes.

When shin splints don’t resolve in several weeks, swelling worsens or your injured shin is warm and red, contact your provider. You may have a stress fracture in the shin bone (tibia). Imaging can help identify the fracture, allowing your provider to develop a treatment plan that gets you back on your feet, without pain.

Want to keep your shins in good shape? Find a provider at Union Health to help prevent pain today and tomorrow.