What are shin splints
According to Wikipedia shin splints are a common injury that affects athletes who engage in running sports or basic activities such as cross country, football, or hiking. This condition is characterized by pain in the lower part of the leg between the knee and the ankle.
WebMD states that 13% of all running injuries are a result of Shin Splints, also known as tibial stress syndrome. A common misconception is that shin splints are a single medical problem, but, in reality is a result of another problem. According to WebMD these problems might be;
Irritated swollen muscles caused by overuse
Stress fractures
Flat feet
Shin splints can be extremely painful and may take months to heal depending on the underlying cause. Some things you can do to help reduce the effects of shin splints are
Take anti-inflammatory medication (IB Profin, Motrin)
Buy new shoes if yours are older than 3 months
Buy better arch support for the shoes you have
Stretch often
Rest
Shin splints can be a dull achy feeling all the time or may only affect you when you run. The pain may be located anywhere on your shins and might be painful to touch. If the problem lasts more than 4 weeks with the proper treatments, I would suggest visiting your local health care professional about having X-Rays done to see if you have stress fractures.
For more information about shin splints visit:
http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/shin-splints
http://www.livestrong.com/shin-splints/
