What are Shin Splints?
Shin splints invoke pain on the inner edge of the shinbone due to the muscles and tendon being inflamed and overworked repetitively. They often occur in running activities where there is a significant increase in load. Since the muscles surrounding the shin are likely not yet accustomed to this load, it causes the lower leg muscles to pull on the shin bone.
How can I increase my loading?
Increase frequency of completing a certain activity
Increase intensity (increased jumping loads, running longer distances to quickly, running up hills)
Change the surface you are running on (wet grass, gravel, concrete)
What can I do to help manage this?
It is important that you see your Physiotherapist or Podiatrist for proper assessment and treatment. A Podiatrist will also help to ensure that your footwear is footwear which is super important.
Depending on the severity of the shin splints, modifying your load or resting from running can be beneficial. Lower-loaded activities may include changing frequency of exercise, swimming or cycling which can also be beneficial for keeping up the cardiovascular load.
The load during strength training is not as high intensity on the shins compared to running. Thus, strengthening exercises are very important for the shins throughout the recovery and maintenance phase of shin splints. Foam rolling and massage of the tight muscles is also important as having adequate length of the muscle is significant for generating power when running.
Strength Exercises
Strength exercises may vary for each individual depending on the areas that are weak, however, these may include:
Toe raises
Straight leg calf raises
Bent knee calf raises
Banded ankle exercises
Once the pain has settled and there is good strength in the muscles, you can return to low loaded running. Once there are no issues with low loaded running for at least two weeks, you can attempt to complete higher running loads.
You must ensure to take adequate rest days between each run or training session. It is advisable to take at least one day off after a short or low intensity run and at least two days off after a higher intensity run. This will give your muscles time to recover.
It is also important to continue your strength training for the calves daily to prevent the recurrence of shin splints. However, every individual is different. Thus, it is important to see your Physiotherapist or Podiatrist to help you return to playing football safely.
