Shin Splints

Symptoms: Shin splints are very common among beginning runners because they may do too much too soon. With anterior shin splints, you'll feel pain on the outside if your lower leg along the shin. Posterior shinsplints, damage to the muscles on the inside of the lower leg, cause pain in the soft tissue behind the bone.

Cause : While shin splints are usually caused by tight calf muscles and weak shin muscles, other factors may have aggravated the injury. Running on hard surfaces can put added strain on your front leg muscles. You may also pronate or supinate when you run, causing your front leg muscles to work harder to keep your feet stabilized. This biomechanical flaw may be made worse by a shoe with poor support. Another common cause is simply overtraining.

Treatment : For shin splints, there are a number of steps you can take to speed recovery. First, to reduce the pain, ice your lower legs after you run. Keep ice on for ten to fifteen minutes every 4 to 6 hours, and make sure your foot is elevated. To help reduce the inflammation further, take aspirin or ibuprofen with food. Never take it on an empty stomach or before running. In the evening, wrap a heating pad around your leg and put it on a low setting.