Treating Shin Splints

Before the pandemic, it was estimated that about 3 million Aussies enjoy running for fun and as a form of physical exercise. Over the last couple of years with the pandemic, that has increased as gyms were not available and people were encouraged to find safe ways to stay fit and get out of their homes. But with running comes some incidents of injuries including the issue known as shin splints (once called Media Tibial Stress Syndrome). It is one of the more common injuries runners face, about 20% of all running injuries that a physio Wembley helps to treat, in fact.

Symptoms of shin splints

Typical symptoms of shin splints are a lot of tenderness and pain in the location of the shin, on the lower inside area. That pain is aggravated by any kind of exercise that involves impact like running. The reason behind the pain is that the thin lining that is attaching the bone and muscle together known as the periosteum, becomes inflamed. In many cases, there is also some micro-trauma to the outer bone or cortical. This is why a physio West Perth will tell runners they need to have a period where they stop completely to recover and then have a gradual program to return to running. A lot of runners try to push through the pain but that leads to the symptoms just getting worse and making recovery even longer.

Physio treatment

As well as stopping running, a physio Wembley is likely to also advise weight loss using low impact exercise, as weight is a factor in your recovery. Low impact exercises include things like cycling or swimming. They may also have you wear orthotics or motion control footwear to wear before you start your reduced program. There is likely to be a combination of stretches and leg work as well. One of the indicators to whether you are ready to start that reduced running program though is whether you can hop on either leg for a minimum of 30 seconds without feeling pain.

Examples of physio stretching

Four examples of stretching your physio West Perth might set are the Gastroc stretch, the wall glute stretch and the Soleus stretch.

Gastroc stretch

Lean against a wall with one back leg straight, both feet forward-facing, then lunge forward keeping your back heel down. Stretch the upper calf of the back leg, hold for 30 seconds, rest then repeat doing it twice on each side. Do twice a day or as guided by your physio.

Wall glute stretch

Again, next to a wall bring a leg up into a marching position and then keeping your hips level still, press into the wall with your outer thigh. Hold for 20 seconds, rest for 20 and then repeat 5 times performing it at least twice a week on each side or as your physio tells you.

Soleus stretch

Get into the position as if you are doing a lunge but move your front leg a lot more forwards. This time the stretch should be felt further down in the lower calf of the back leg. Do twice a day, two times holding for 30 seconds, resting for 30 and doing each side.