About Shin Splints
Shin splints, or medial/lateral
tibial stress syndrome, is an overuse injury occurring along the tibia where
the muscles and tendons connect. The tibia, more commonly called the shin bone,
is the large bone in the front of your lower leg. The pain in your shin bone is
caused by an overload of stress on the bone and the tissues that attach your
muscles to the bone.
Possible Causes
Stress from high-impact
activities, most often running, can result in tiny tears of the muscles of the
shin. These tears cause swelling and weakness in the muscles. This creates
excess strain on the connective tissues and the bone. The overload on your shin
bone is most commonly caused by activities such as running downhill, running on
a slanted or tilted surface, running in worn out or unsupportive footwear, and participating
in sports with frequent starts and stops such as basketball and tennis.
Starting a new workout program or increasing the intensity of your workouts may
also lead to shin splints. You are especially at risk of developing shin
splints if you have flat feet, high arches, or tightness and weakness in the
muscles of your calf, shin, and foot.
Signs and Symptoms
The main symptoms of shin splints
are tenderness, soreness, pain, and mild swelling along or just behind the inner
edge of the tibia. Initially, you may only notice the pain while running or exercising.
Eventually, the pain can become continuous.
You may have shin splints that
are complicated by compartment syndrome. This is a condition in which pressure
from muscle damage and swelling builds up inside a compartment within the body.
As pressure builds, the small build vessels that supply blood to the muscles in
the compartment are closed shut. When the blood supply is cut off, the muscle
begins to ache. If pressure continues to increase, it can squeeze larger blood
vessels and nerves. This can cause coldness, numbness, and swelling in the
lower leg and foot.
Diagnosing Shin Splints
Your doctor can diagnose shin
splints based on your medical history and a physical examination. You should
tell your doctor about your symptoms, the activity that caused your pain, and
any other activities that aggravate your symptoms. Your doctor will commonly
find tenderness along the shin, as well as pain with stretching and contracting
the affected muscles. The doctor may order an x-ray to rule out a stress fracture of the shin bone, which has similar
symptoms.
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