Anyone can feel the shin splints pain if they are engaged in moderate physical activities. There are few activities in which if a person involved may suffer from the splints pain. Whenever a person suffers from the shin splints he feels pain in the lower leg front area, referred to as shin bone. The pain accumulates in the lower part in between the ankle and knee.
Shin splints (medial tibial stress syndrome) in a simple way is the inflammation of the muscles and bone tissue near to tibia or shin bone.It’s a kind of stress disorder where attached muscles get inflammation and pain. It mostly persists on the inside-edge of the fibula. Continuous stress and pressure cause muscle swelling.
Physiotherapists may provide you valuable shin splints exercises and medicines to treat shin splints problems.
There are certain conditions which causes of shin pain,
The first one is stress fracture where there is the appearance of the thin line crack in the lower leg bones or fibula. Second one is the Medial tibial stress syndrome which occurs when the inner side of the fibula gets inflamed.
Intensity of the shin splint pain may vary, therefore the treatment is also applied accordingly which may contain therapies, self-care, and medications. The physiotherapists may suggest shin splints treatment and the effective exercises for this.
Who may be affected by the shin splint?
Shin splints affect a group of people including dancers, runners, sports persons and military personnel. There is about 10.7 percent shin splint injuries in male runners and 16.8 percent in female. While aerobic dancers are the worst affected having injuries rate of 22 percent. In this the bones, tendons, and muscle tissues are overused while doing strenuous workout.
Shin Splint Symptoms
The patient suffering from the shin splints problem may feel the following symptoms
- Tenderness
- Pain in the inner of the shinbone
- Stress fracture
- Muscle Pain
- Numbness and Weakness
Exercises to Reduce Shin Splint Pain
There are several shin splints exercises recommended by physiotherapists which include toe stretch, shin stretch, low lung ankle stretch, calf raises, hip raises with heel pull, forearm plank, single leg balance and pigeon. These exercises help in early recovery from the shin splint pain.
Often within 2-4 weeks the pain goes completely, and you can resume your normal day activities. However the pain may appear during the exercise, afterward or might be constant.
Shin Splint Treatment
There are several ways to treat the shin splint, and all this depends upon the intensity of the pain. The physiotherapists or the person with well-knowledge can tell you the best remedy for your shin splint problem. Here we are going to explore a few
Home Remedies
Sometimes home remedies or domestic ways are pretty much good to eliminate the shin splint problem. You should take a rest for a few hours or a couple of days, and during this period of time you can take rest.
Suggested downtime might be upto 2 weeks, and your doctor can suggest to you the several precautions and what to do or don’t.
Let’s understand the same:
- Keep your legs in a elevated position
- Use ice to minimise the impact of swelling, or can buy the cold compresses.
- You can take over the counter medicine which is good for inflammation, such as ibuprofen and naproxen sodium.
- Elastic compression bandages that are quite good to provide a high recoiling force.
- Use foam roller.
Surgery
In case the therapy or medicinal procedure does not work for shin splint treatment then surgery would be a good option. The surgery is recommended when the shin splints are causing intense pain and symptoms have remained for the last few days or months.The surgery for shin splints is further known as the fasciotomy, where the doctor places a small cut in the fascia tissue. The successful surgery can eliminate the entire pain.
Shin Splint Precautions
Shin splint pain or injury can be avoided if we take the appropriate precautionary measures. Which may include :
- Don’t increase your mileage very quickly.
- Run of plain and soft surfaces to avoid any stress on the bones, muscles and joints.
- Rest is good for your body and provides a chance to recover as soon as possible.
- Strength training can be good for you, where weak anterior tibialis muscles can lead to injury.
- Learn for perfect toe raising.
- It would be better if you do a quick calf stretch after you feel mild shin pain.
Best Physiotherapy Training
We are one of the best physiotherapists in India, who is well-recognised for shin splint treatment. Our team of professionals have vast experience in dealing with spine and joints related problems. Since our inception we’ve successfully treated thousands of patients. All our experts use the modern practices, and have hands on experience in use of advanced tools and technology.
We believe in providing the best shape of your life, where our ergonomy training is pretty much useful for working professionals. Where we guide them to keep their fitness on top priority while working. We have conducted several seminars and educational programs in industries and institutions.