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What you Should Know if your Suffering with Shin Splints?

  

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Shin Spints are best know by a pain in the front and sides of the lower leg that develops or worsens during exercise. Tenderness over the shin and swelling accumulation of fluid of the surrounding tissues. Shin splints are  most common to runners. They may be caused by various situations such as: a muscle tear or inflammation of the outer layer of a bone, tendonitis, inflammation of a muscle or compartment syndrome which is a buildup of pressure in a muscle as a result of trauma or exercise,

 The Tibia is covered by the periosteum, a band of soft tissue that has both nerve tissue and a blood supply. Just above the ankle and below the knee, tendons help attach muscles to the periosteum. When the shin is over-stressed, problems can develop in the periosteum, the tendons, the muscle, on the shinbone or in the four muscle compartments of the lower leg, which are covered with a wall of connective tissue (called the fascia). If recurrent, this latter condition is called chronic compartment syndrome.

Shin splints are a common, often seasonal injury that usually occurs when you start to run after a long layoff. They can also result from playing a sport (such as tennis) on a hard surface, changing your style of workout shoes, dramatically increasing workouts, or gaining a substantial amount of weight and then exercising.

Anterior shin splint is due to a muscle or tendon injury (that help to lift the front of the foot) and results in pain and tenderness on the front outside of the leg. Posterior pain (a soreness that radiates along the back and inner side of the lower leg or ankle) is typically caused by stressed muscles that help support and stabilize the arch of the foot.

What to Look for:

At the first sign of pain in the shins, stop your activity. Trying to exercise through the soreness will only aggravate the condition and cause it to worsen.

Immediately massage the area with ice to reduce inflammation and irritation. The ice acts like a quick-acting, anti-inflammatory medication.

For pain relief and help to decrease the swelling, your physician may suggest taking ibuprofen, as directed.

Do not apply heat to the area. Shin splints are an inflammatory condition, and heat will only irritate the area even more.

Healing time can be as little as two to three weeks (if you cut back on your exercise and begin aggressive self-help measures), but in some cases, recovery can take as long as 12 to 14 weeks before pain subsides.

How to Prevent Shin Splints:

Shin splints may be avoided with some common sense measures:

• Custom Orthotics:  Orthotics look like insoles, but are biomechanical medical appliances that are custom made to correct your specific foot imbalance. Orthotics work on your feet much like glasses work on your eyes – they reduce stress and strain on your body by bringing your feet back into proper alignment. Orthotics fit into your shoes as comfortably as an insole – and they have the advantage of having been made from precise imprints of your feet.
• Check your exercise shoes Often.  Switch to well-fitting shoes with plenty of impact-absorbing material in the forefoot and heel area. Remember that your running shoes may lose much of their shock absorbency after as few as 500 miles.
• Warm up before running by first walking, then gradually increasing your speed to a jog.
• Stretch your calf muscles with a wall stretch. One way to stretch out tight calf muscles and Achilles tendons after warming up is to walk slowly on your heels for 100-200 yards.
• Consider to walk/run on dirt, grass, cinder or a rubberized track to minimize shin trauma.
1. Wall Shin Raises. Simply stand with your back to a wall, with your heels about the length of your feet away from the wall. Gradually, lean back until your buttocks and shoulders rest against the wall. Dorsiflex both ankles simultaneously, while your heels remain in contact with the ground. Bring your toes as far toward your shins as you can, then lower your feet back toward the ground and do not allow your forefeet to contact the ground before beginning the next repeat. Lower them until they are close to the ground, and then begin another repetition. Complete about 10 to 12 reps.