Avoiding Shinsplints

I've been very lucky to avoid injuries through my 35-plus years of running. Aside from unrelated eye surgery, there have been only a couple of things that have sidelined me from running for longer than a week.

One of those was a nasty case of shinsplints that occured in my first season of track & field in college. I was real enthusiastic about increasing my training miles after my first marathon (back in 1977) and, sure enough, developed sharp shooting pains down the front of my lower legs that sidelined me for over a month.

Medically known as medial tibial stress syndrome, shinsplints are a dull, aching pain along the inside of the shin. The most common cause is a sudden increase in training miles or intensity, frequent at the start of a cross-country or track season, or when someone is prepping for a half or full marathon. Basketball players, volleyballers and gymnasts also can easily pick up shinsplints, and even walkers who may be wearing very worn shoes, or who over-pronate (foot rolls inside) when they land. Poor running form, in general, certainly can be a factor, and muscle tightness (which leads to imbalanced strides).

Total rest probably would heal shinsplints the fastest, but if you developed them in the first place, you are obviously someone engaging in physical activity, and you don't want to stop.

Try lower impact activities like rowing, cycling, or swimming, and you won't lose cardiovascular fitness.

When you get back to running, build back up slowly, with no more than 10% increase in mileage per week. Keep the cross-training in the your repertoire, and buy new shoes. Try to stay on softer surfaces like a high-school track or boardwalk.

If you feel the symptoms coming back, listen to the signals your body is sending. If the shinsplints develop further, the condition can turn into a stress fracture, and totally ruin whatever you were training for in the first-place. Listen to someone who's been through it.