Have you been feeling sharp, acute pain in your shins while running? If you have, then you most likely have shin splints. Painful and unpleasant, they can not only be debilitating to your athletic performance, but they can also worsen and create a potential stress fracture over time.
That being said, we’re here to provide you more information on this particular type of running injury. In this article, we’ll answer the question: “Why do my shins hurt when I run?” by addressing what exactly are shin splints, their causes, and finally how to treat them. Without further ado, let’s begin!
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Also known as medial tibia stress syndrome, shin splints are a type of injury that occurs along the tibia, where the shin is located. It’s an inflammation of the tissue surrounding the shin bone and they, along with the muscles, tear as you run.
Via: verywell.com
Usually, when you have shin splints, you might experience soreness and/or tenderness along the inside of your shin bone. However, as it worsens, you might start to feel acute pain with each step as you run, possibly progressing to pain even as you walk.
For a video on the symptoms of shin splints, check out this one here:
To learn more about stress fractures, check out our article on it here:
Before you can go ahead and treat your injury, you’ll first need to have a diagnostic test to see if you, in fact, have shin splints and not some other type of injury. Should the case be that you have a stress fracture instead, you’ll need to take other measures to get your body healed.
Medical tests such as X-rays or MRI scans are the best ways to go since they not only can help you identify your problem but also figure out the steps to take afterward for recovery.
Once you confirm that you have shin splints, it’s now time to treat them. Here are some ways to go about it:
For a video on shin strengthening exercises, take a look at this one here.
Generally speaking, shin splints take around 2 to 4 weeks to heal; however, some of the more chronic cases can take 3 to 6 months to be completely gone.
Be patient, and wait at least two weeks after the pain just goes away to slowly resume running again.
Shin splints not only are, literally, a pain in our body, but they’re also a pain (figuratively, of course) when we need to stop in order for our shins to recover. However, with some patience and knowledge, you can take steps to help you recover in an efficient way. Here are some ways:
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