Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome
(Shin Splints)

If you think you’ve developed shin splints, it’s a good idea to stop the activity that caused them for 2-3 days. Apply ice to relieve pain and swelling, and elevate your lower leg to reduce inflammation. Remember, 90% of shin splint healing is load management (rest). If pain persists after a few days, seek professional shin splint treatment.

Training through pain is never a good idea – it can lead to acute compartment syndrome, a serious condition that can cause permanent deformity, disability, and infection. As much as possible, try to space out your training sessions, and apply ice immediately afterward. Elevate your legs and get as much rest as possible. You may also benefit from regenerative therapy leading up to and after your race.

While ankle range-of-motion exercises and gentle stretching may help promote healing, excessive walking is probably not a good idea. Rest, ice, compression and elevation are your friends in the early stages of soft tissue injuries like shin splints.

The tibialis anterior muscle often contains significant myofascial trigger points, which often go under-diagnosed and under-treated. Trigger points can sometimes be detected by palpation – you can feel tiny hard knots just below the skin’s surface. But deep tissue trigger points can only be detected with ultrasound imaging. Ultrasound guided dry needling is a fast and effective treatment for shin splint trigger points.