Shin Splints – Part 1 - Health Plus Digest

The tibia, or long bone in the front of the leg, is called the shinbone. Your lower leg actually has two bones, the tibia and fibula. The tibia is the larger bone in the front and the fibula is smaller, more narrow and behind the tibia and in front of the calf muscle. Shin splints is a term used to describe pain that runs along the shinbone in the front of the lower leg.

The medical term for the condition is medial tibial stress syndrome. The cause of the condition can be multifactorial, or be the result of several different factors in your life. The major cause is repetitive stress on the shinbone and connective tissue. This stress can be the result of sudden change in physical activity which increases the frequency and stress on the lower leg.

Other factors that will increase the risk of developing these shin splints are flat feet or rigid arches which increases stress on the connective tissue on the shins and exercising in shoes that are improperly worn. Dancers, military recruits, runners and soccer players are at the highest risk.

Athletes who overpronate, don’t stretch or place excessive stress on their lower leg by running on cambered roads will also be at higher risk of developing the condition. Most often just one leg is involved and usually is the athlete’s dominant leg.

You might feel pain from the lower tibia to the center of the leg, depending upon where the stress on the leg is placed. Exactly what causes the pain is still only a theory. It can be the result of small tears in the muscle, an inflammation of the tissue around the bone, an inflammation of the muscle or a combination of these factors.

Resources:

MayoClinic: Shin Splints

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/shin-splints/basics/definition/con-20023428

SportsInjuryClinic: Shin Splints

http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/sport-injuries/ankle-achilles-shin-pain/shin-splints

Core Performance: Everything You need to know About shin splints

http://www.coreperformance.com/knowledge/injury-pain/shin-splints.html

Runners World: Shin Splints

http://www.runnersworld.com/tag/shin-splints

American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons: Shin Splints

http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00407