Shin Splints Signs, Treatment, Recovery & Prevention

• Symptoms of Shin Splints

• Treatments of Shin Splints

• Signs Showing Shin Splints Healing (Recovery)

• What to Do If Shin Splints Don’t Heal?

Do you feel pain after running? Most people face throbbing and ache in the shin when they sprint behind the bus in daily life. This type of pain is shin splint. The doctors may call it Tibial Stress Syndrome in medical language. This pain is because of the stress on connective tissues present between the bones and muscles or stress on the shin bone. This situation happens after inflammation of the shin bone or muscles. This issue happens because of following events.

• Flat feet: Overpronation is a medical condition in which the foot arch collapse because of step impact.
• Wearing shoes that are not properly fit or causing trouble for the feet.
• Starting workouts without cool-down stretches or proper warm-up.
• A general weakness of core muscles, hips, and ankles.

Those who are active can get this issue. The shin splints could also happen when you are more frequent, intense or irregular in the matter of workouts.

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Symptoms of Shin Splints:

Patients who have this injury might notice the following points.

• Soreness in the shinbone.

• Swelling in the legs.

• Pain in inner side of the shinbone.

• Tenderness in the shinbone as well as shin muscles.

Initially, the pain may appear or disappear especially when you exercise. The pain may also persist during the workouts. This condition leads to a continuous stress reaction.

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Treatments of Shin Splints:

This workout injury can be treated with simple techniques. In most cases, the shin splints heal automatically with the passage of time. People who want to visit a doctor for the counseling should expect a thorough physical checkup. The doctor may ask you to run in order to see the performance of your feet, legs, ankles and shin bone. He or she may also take X-rays to focus on bone scan. This bone scan is done to see fractures in the shin bone. Following treatments are good to treat shin splints.

• Rest: Your body needs rest if you face shin splints. This injury will take some time to heal.
• Icing: You have to ice the shin. Focus on other symptoms such as swelling or ache in the shin. If you have swelling as well as pain then using coldest ice pack would be the top option. This ice pack provides an immediate reduction in swelling and pain. Do it for a short period of 20 or 30 minutes. You can repeat the ice application twice or thrice a day. Continue this practice for at least 2 to 3 days.
• Orthotics and insoles: Try orthotics and insoles. These are shoe inserts. These are easily available at a pharmacy or surgical stores. These can be made or bought from markets. These are highly useful for flat feet or if your arches collapse when you try to stand up.
• NSAID’s or painkillers: These are good if prescribed by doctors. You can general anti-inflammatory painkillers only if you have pain in the shin bone. These drugs are good to reduce swelling and pain. Common examples of NSAID’s recommended by doctors include aspirin, naproxen, and ibuprofen. You may face some side effects of taking these drugs. For example, these drugs can promote ulcers and bleeding. Therefore, the doctor’s prescription is very important in this matter.

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Signs Showing Shin Splints Healing (Recovery):

You will know they are completely healed when:

• The injured shin or leg is working flexibly just like the uninjured leg.

• The injured leg shows strength just like the uninjured leg.

• You can put pressure or stress on the part where the pain was present.

• You can continue daily workouts such as jumping, sprinting, or jogging without having pain.

It is hard to give a precise time-frame about the healing. Similarly, you can’t expect it without proceeding with treatments. The healing time depends on the event which caused the injury. Different people have different healing experiences. Most people get proper healing within 3 to 6 months.

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The most essential thing is that patients should not think about sports. There is no need to rush back to previous sports activities. You are not ready for this. Putting pressure or stress on the shin bone without proper healing may impact the healing process. What happens if someone starts previous routines without healing shin? This could be dangerous. Actually, it may lead to permanent damage or injury.

How to start after shin healing? Those who want to resume the daily activities should start with No-Impact Activities. Think about workouts having no impact on the shin bone or muscles. For example, if you are a sprinter or a runner then you should choose swimming. This is a better activity that doesn’t put stress on the shin bone and muscles.

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What to Do If Shin Splints Don’t Heal?

What to do if shin splints don’t heal? In some cases, the shin splints don’t heal or may come back after partial healing. You should contact the doctor immediately. This situation is not a good sign for your health. Only a doctor or physical therapist can suggest about the next planning. There could be further issues. Or there may be an issue without your moving or walking style. The physician will see both of these issues.

Based on a preliminary evaluation, the doctor will recommend rest, drugs or treatments. It is essential to follow the guidelines given by your physician. There is no need to hurry. You are dealing with a sensitive matter as it is connected with your movement. Keep in touch with your physical therapist. He may find some special techniques to minimize pain and swelling in the leg. On the other hand, a therapist can also help the patients of shin splints to correct the walking style. Continue with your doctor and therapist as it helps to resume sports activities as soon as possible.

The doctors also help the patients to avoid or prevent further damages. For example, most patients of shin splints have been reported to have stress fractures. The stress fracture is an injury in which patients receive tiny cracks in the tibia.

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