With the recent lockdown in Sydney everyone has taken up walking or running. For some, this is extremely different to their normal fitness regime which includes a lot of weight training. While keeping fit and healthy is super important at this time, shin pain may become an issue for those who dive in too quickly to a new style of exercise.
Shin region pain is most common in runners and sports that require running on a hard surface. Most people who come to us with this problem have put up with mild pain for quite some time. Often you may feel like you are able to persevere, but is this a good option?
The most common cause of shin pain is Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome (MTSS) or ‘shin splints’ as they are commonly known. Essentially shin splints are a repetitive-stress injury to the muscle and bone associated with the tibia. Usually, you will have pain longitudinally that is 5cm or longer down the bone and located closer to the ankle than the knee. At present shin splints fall into a spectrum of bones stress injuries however there is also muscle and tendon contributions to the pain.
What Causes Shin Splints?
The cause of shin splints is usually multifactorial and typically includes;
- Training Errors
– doing too much too soon
– wearing poor or ill-fitting shoes
– always running on hard surfaces
– sudden change in surfaces (eg playing on a harder soccer field)
– poorly structured training that doesn’t allow adequate rest and recovery
- Biomechanical Abnormalities
– reduced ankle mobility
– over pronation of the foot (foot rolling in)
– calf muscle weakness
– poor intrinsic foot muscle function
Should I see a physiotherapist?
YES! In most people shin splints are mild and once managed appropriately you will be able to return to all exercise pain free and without further complications. However, given this injury does fall on the bone stress spectrum, some people may further progress to tibial stress fractures. This injury is quite painful and will prohibit you from any running and sport for 6-12 weeks. Ideally, you should see your physiotherapist sooner rather than later so that you do not end up in this situation.
What can be done to help with this problem?
Assessment by a physiotherapist will focus on why you have developed this problem in the first place. Once this has been established, a tailored rehabilitation program will be put together to help you get back to normal as soon as possible. Rehabilitation will firstly focus on settling the pain and inflammation, followed by strengthening/proprioception/mobility exercises (whichever you need or a combination) and then a graded return to running/sport. Everyone should be treated on an individual basis as what causes one person’s pain doesn’t cause another’s.
Some people may be able to continue some modified training whilst they are recovering whilst others may have to completely change their training. This is something your physiotherapist can help guide you on.
What will my recovery time be?
It really just depends! There are so many variables to this question and the answer differs person to person. Typically speaking people with mild symptoms that have only been present for a short duration will tend to recover in 2-4 weeks. However, this does depend on compliance to treatment, whether they have a competition coming up and individual responses to treatment. The biggest thing is avoiding progression to a stress fracture which may take up to 12 weeks to recover from.
If you are experiencing shin pain don’t put off getting it seen to. All of our physiotherapists regularly treat this condition so contact our Carlingford or Kellyville clinic today to make an appointment. You can also book online via our website.
