Shin Splints

     Living on Blue Mountain I do a lot of hiking up and running down hills. One of the biggest problems from doing this is shin splints. The change in surfaces (grass, dirt, rock, asphalt) play a big part in how your foot impacts the ground. Your foot will collapse and arch differently causing irritation in the muscles that support  your feet and lower leg.

     The first step in relieving the pain is rest. You need to let your muscles heal. Inflamed muscles are usually the cause of the pain, massaging your lower leg with ice will help decrease the pressure and alleviate discomfort. Follow four steps called *C.B.A.N. whenever using ice therapy to avoid further injury.

Prevention:

The best way to avoid shin splints is stretching. Your quadriceps, hamstrings, calve muscles and anterior compartment all play a part in how you run or walk. Hold each stretch for at least 15-30 seconds and make sure to repeat for both legs.

A good pair of shoes will help you feel comfortable and support the arch of your feet, orthopedic insoles can be transferred from shoe to shoe and can help immensely.

A new and effective prevention method is Kinesio Taping. Kinesio taping stabilizes the joints and supports muscles without affecting circulation or mobility.

This is a diagram of a leg being Kinesio Taped supporting the lateral and medial lower leg.



Shin splints may also be cause by hair line fractures. If pain persists longer than a week after using the above treatment see you doctor or family physician.

Nathaniel Porter-Gowan,RMT


*C.B.A.N. The four steps you should feel when applying ice therapy are Cold, Burning, Aching, Numb.
                 Once the muscles feel numb remove the ice and do not reapply until all tissue returns to
                  normal temperature.