Pain From Shin Splints Limiting Your New Years Running Goals?

We understand the frustration. You want to run to help get back in shape or you desire to do the activity or sport that you love, but the pain is preventing you from accomplishing your goals or doing what you want to do!

Shin splints, also referred to as medial tibial stress syndrome (MTSS), often presents as pain in the front of the shins or even on the inside of the shin bone called your tibia.(1) Shin splints can come from a source of muscular pain, bone pain, or a combination of both.

Shin splints are unfortunately very common in the active population including runners, young athletes, and those trying to get back in shape. Research shows that about 15-20% of runners have shin splints.(2) The most common sports to develop shin splints are cross country, track and field, basketball, soccer, and football.

Treating shin splints in runners

Start Running Pain-Free Again

At St. Johns Chiropractic & Performance, we help active adults & youth athletes get out of pain quickly & rehabilitate their injuries so they can get back to doing what they love without limitation. Dr. Grant Speer is an expert with sports injuries and has an extensive background in diagnosing injuries, finding the root cause of the injury, pain reduction techniques, and rehabilitating the injured tissue to prevent further injury.

We have helped many people in Saint Johns, Florida with shin pain and have found lasting solutions to help them run and play sports without pain!

Why You Have Shin Splints

There are many reasons why people get shin splints and a few of them include having previous running injuries, hip mobility issues, poor foot muscle strength, and being overweight. (1) Other obvious reasons can include running on hard surfaces, poor shoe selection, and dysfunction or pain at other joints including your low back, knees, and ankles.

But the main reason that shins splints develop is because of loads and stresses that are tissues (joints, muscles, bones) are not prepared for. The loads in the stresses of running often become too much for our tissues whenever we try to do too much too quick.

An example of this, is starting a brand new running program by running 5 miles every day. This is a lot of sudden stress that your body is not used to. A better way to acclimate your body to running would be to run 1 mile a couple times a week and gradually add distance and more running sessions as your body gets used to the stress.

This strategy will help your body adapt to the stress of running and help eliminate overuse injuries. Similar physical strategies can be applied to muscle strains, tendinitis, and other athletic injuries.

Learning More About Healing From Shin Splints

In our next blog, we’ll discuss the best treatments and therapy for shin splints as well as the most appropriate healing timelines and how you can quickly recover from this sports injury! We’ll discuss what treatments may or may not be best for you including compression socks, sports cupping, KT Tape (kinesiology tape), biofreeze, balance training, and heat or ice packs!

If you know someone in the Saint Johns, Florida area (Durbin Crossing, Aberdeen, RiverTown, Julington Creek Plantation, Beachwalk, Silverleaf) who is not able to live the active lifestyle that they want because of an injury or pain and could benefit from our thorough approach and comprehensive care, please share this post with them or send them our way!

We are conveniently located just south of Jacksonville in between CR 210 and Race Track Road, near where St. Johns Parkway and Longleaf Pine intersect! Right across the street from Patriot Oaks Academy in the 32259 zip code! Only 4 minutes from Durbin Park! We are committed to offering the best chiropractic care near you!

We help active adults & youth athletes get out of pain quickly & rehabilitate their injuries so they can get back to doing what they love pain-free! So, whether you’re looking to make a lifestyle change, recover from chronic pain, or become a better athlete, our experts at St. Johns Chiropractic & Performance can help you improve.

Do you need a chiropractor in St. Johns, Florida? Contact or call/text us today at 904-217-7078 to schedule your appointment.

References

  1. Reinking MF, Austin TM, Richter RR, Krieger MM. Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome in Active Individuals: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Risk Factors. Sports Health. 2017 May/Jun;9(3):252-261. doi: 10.1177/1941738116673299. Epub 2016 Oct 1. PMID: 27729482; PMCID: PMC5435145.
  2. Winkelmann ZK, Anderson D, Games KE, Eberman LE. Risk Factors for Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome in Active Individuals: An Evidence-Based Review. J Athl Train. 2016 Dec;51(12):1049-1052. doi: 10.4085/1062-6050-51.12.13. Epub 2016 Nov 11. PMID: 27835043; PMCID: PMC5264561.

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