Without compression socks, water weight in the lower legs may cause a runner to misstep or experience poor running form. First of all, compression therapy stops your leg from swelling, reducing your inflammation both during and after a workout. How Do Compression Socks Help?Ĭompression socks work to reduce the leg pain from shin splints in several ways. Surgery may be considered to eliminate chronic, severe pain that does not respond to other treatments. A physical therapist can recommend a strengthening and flexibility program to help you correct muscle imbalances and develop a more even stride. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs), such as over-the-counter ibuprofen or naproxen sodium, can reduce pain and inflammation. Compression socks work to provide symptomatic relief for pain and inflammation. Insoles and orthotics can be used with athletic shoes to correct a leg length discrepancy.Ĭompression therapy. Some running shoes prevent improper pronation. Cooling the leg with an ice pack helps to reduce pain and inflammation. Always warm up properly, and avoid running on hills or uneven, hard surfaces. Next, slowly work running back into your routine, building gradually to increase the frequency or intensity of exercise. During the break from running, you should focus on cross-training to build strength in other areas of the body. Rest is necessary, and it allows the muscles and bones time to repair themselves. Wilder and Shikha Sethi outline the best treatments for shin splints: In Clinics in Sports Medicine, doctors Robert P. These diagnostic tests enable a doctor to determine the extent of the damage to your bones. ( Galbraith 128 ) Doctors often perform an X-ray or a bone scan, in addition to a physical exam, when they diagnose MTSS. Women are at an increased risk (1.5-3.5x) of having MTSS progress into stress fractures. For example, the small tears in your bone can develop into stress fractures that cause long-term damage. If you continue exercising with existing microtears in your bone and muscle, you may encounter more serious symptoms. As shin splints worsen, you may feel worsening pain throughout your workout and even at rest. After warming up, the discomfort may subside. At the beginning of MTSS, it's common to feel pain only at the beginning of a workout. You’ll probably also experience inflammation and swelling in the lower leg. They may include soreness or pain along the front of your lower leg, near the inner side of the shinbone. The symptoms of shin splints are usually mild. Any sudden increase in the intensity or duration of your exercise routine can cause MTSS to develop. Military recruits often suffer the pain of shin splints as they adjust to the rigors of basic training. People with lower lean calf girth measurements or tightness in their calf muscles are more likely to develop shin splints. A larger than usual range of hip motion, malalignment of the lower limbs, or a leg length discrepancy can all impact your stride, turning normal movement into high-impact activity.Ĭalf girth and tightness. An improper gate, caused by pronation of the foot, flat feet, or an unusually high arch, may contribute to shin splints. People with a higher body mass are predisposed to MTSS.įoot mechanics. If you have had shin splints before, that will make you more likely to experience them in the future. Females are more likely to develop MTSS than males. Risk FactorsĬertain factors make you more likely to develop shin splints: These microtears cause pain along the posteromedial tibial border, where the shinbone and muscle connect, for a length of at least five consecutive centimeters. No matter the cause, people with MTSS develop microtears in muscle and bone tissue. Some attribute MTSS to the slow formation of new bone, as compared to the resorption of old bone, in the tibial cortex. Others argue that the pain signals inflammation of the periosteum, a layer of connective tissue that surrounds bone. Some researchers believe that the pain is caused by inflammation of the muscular attachment along the posterior medial tibia. What Causes Shin Splints?Īlthough the exact cause of shin splints remains unknown, there are several dominant theories. If you don't give yourself adequate time to recover and heal, it’s easy to overwork your tendons, muscles, and bones. In colloquial language, people refer to this painful syndrome as "shin splints." Any physical activity may cause shin splints, but MTSS is especially likely to develop after you intensify your training routine or increase your activity too quickly. The resulting medical condition, medial tibial stress syndrome (MTSS), is a common complaint in the world of sports medicine. For amateur and professional athletes, overuse injury or repetitive stress to the tibia may cause micro-tears in the bone and surrounding muscle. The bone in your lower leg is called the tibia.
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