Shin splint is a pain felt in the inner edge of the shinbone. The pain is concentrated in the lower leg that is between the ankle and the knee. There is swelling of the muscles and the pressure that you feel against your bones causes inflammation and pain. Doctor refers this as the condition called the Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome (MTSS).
The people that are particularly affected by this pain are the ones who are engaged in physical activities that are considered as moderate-to-heavy activities. There is the possibility that the shin splint can develop when you do strenuous activities such as tennis, soccer, or basketball and sometimes when this pain becomes so intense, you should stop the activity that you are doing immediately.
This pain is basically caused by stress to bone fractures. If there will be pounding constantly it will cause cracks in the legs’ bones. With enough time given to rest, the cracks on the bones of the legs will be healed in no time but if it does not get rest, it comes to a point that the tiny cracks will then be the cause of a complete fracture.
There are other causes of this pain, it can be due to thighs and buttocks that have weak muscles, lack of flexibility and improper techniques in doing trainings and exercises.
The 4 Most Common Shin Splint Symptoms
Here are the shin splint symptoms that you might experience:
1. The front part of your lower legs will feel a dull ache or either side of your shinbones will feel pain.
2. Pain that you feel might develop while you exercise and can be constant.
3. There is muscle pain, soreness and tenderness on your lower leg’s inner part.
4. There could also be swelling in your lower leg and your feet feels numb and at the same time weak.
In treating your shin splints, it normally requires a break from the physical activities that you do and give time of rest for your legs. The discomfort that you feel will be gone in a few hours or few days of rest. To deal with this pain effectively, elevate your legs and to reduce the swelling, you can use ice packs and you may take pain medication. Wear also compression bandages that are elastic.
Above all, don’t forget to consult the doctor about it and before doing again the activities that you usually do to avoid a serious condition that might affect the lower leg. At first, you will think that this pain is just simple but once you ignore it, healing it will be difficult because it will require you a surgery.
For you to be able to avoid this kind of pain, always make sure that you make use of varied workouts that could pay attention to a muscle group particularly. In doing activities, wear proper outfits and shoes so that it will not contribute any trauma or pressure that could produce severe pain. Warm up first before doing any exercise so that it will not cause shock to your body system. Love your body because you will never a get new one once it is broken.