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Home > Blog > Physiotherapy Singapore & Hand Therapy > Conditions > Shin Splints Physiotherapy
Shin splints are painful conditions in the shin that affects athletes or sporty individuals that participate in high impact sports or activities that has a lot of
There's two (2) types of shin splints:
Anterior Shin Splints
Anterior shin splints, like its name (anterior means front), affects the front of the shin bone and involves the tibialis anterior muscle, which both lifts and lowers the foot during activities.
When this muscle and surrounding tissues is injured or inflamed, there will be pain whenever patient extends and lifts their toes with their heel on the ground.
This is called anterior tibial stress syndrome (ATSS) or anterior shin splints.
Posterior Shin Splints
Posterior (back) shin splints affect the inside back part of the shin bone, and involves the tibialis posterior muscle.
This muscle lifts and controls the medial (inside) part of the foot arch. If there is weakness or poor endurance of this muscle, it will lead to torsional shin bone stresses.
Symptoms will include pain along the inside back part of the shin bone.
It is important to be able to differentiate this from tibial stress fractures, as both conditions are collectively known as medial tibial stress syndrome (MTSS).
Shin splints can happen due to overuse injuries or overtraining, which leads to the muscles that attach to the shin bone to be overstrained.
It can also be caused or aggravated by inadequate foot and leg biomechanics, causing abnormal movement patterns and errors in training.
Of course there are other factors that can contribute to shin splints, such as
We need to quickly and accurately identify the underlying cause of shin splints and address it to prevent it from getting worse, get it healed and prevent it from coming back. That's why an in-depth and thorough evaluation of biomechanics, training techniques, and equipment can help to prevent and treat shin splints effectively.
Shin splints and shin pain results from the over-straining, overloading or overuse of the three main structures in the lower leg:
The front of the lower leg typically experiences a dull ache and the main symptom of shin splint. Depending on what caused the shin splint in the first place, the pain may appear along either sides of the shin bone or inside the tibialis anterior muscle.
The affected areas may also be tender when pressed or palpated.
There are four (4) stages of shin splints:
We will need to first get your medical history followed by a physical examination of your shin.
Sometimes, we may need to call for
to identify or rule out other potential causes of your pain, such as in the case of stress fracture or muscle strain. These tests can help rule out injuries or conditions that can cause or aggravate your symptoms.
We will ask also about your
and any other factors that may be contributing to your shin splints.
It is very important to receive a proper diagnosis to ensure that you receive the appropriate shin splint treatment and prevent the pain and injury from worsening.
Shin splints are typically treated with a multi-stage physiotherapy program.
How well your shin splints recover depends on a few different factors:
You must follow the physio's instructions and progress through each phases / stages of shin splint physio program at a pace that's suitable for your condition. If you attempt to progress it too fast too soon can (and will) lead to shin splint reinjury and more frustrations.
Please do take your shin splints seriously and seek professional physiotherapy treatments as quickly as possible. If you leave it untreated on a wait-and-see, and continue with overloading, overtraining and overusing, your shin splint can worsen into more serious and severe stuff such as
and they may need even more intensive or longer treatments (and even may need surgery).
So if you're experiencing shin pain, do make an appointment with our physiotherapist to assess and diagnose the pain, create a personalized shin splint recovery plan for you and treat you to complete recovery.