Shin splints
Your health expert: Mr Gareth Stables, Specialist Knee Surgeon, Bupa
Content editor review by: Reviewed by Rachael Mayfield-Blake, Freelance Health Editor, November 2023
Next review due November 2026
Shin splints are a common type of pain in your lower leg around your shin bone, which is usually triggered by physical activity. Shin splints aren’t usually serious and there’s a lot you can do yourself to improve your symptoms.
About shin splints
The medical name for shin splints is medial tibial stress syndrome (MTSS). Your tibia is your shin bone, the main bone of your lower leg.
Shin splints are one of the most common injuries to the lower leg. Symptoms often start when you do a lot of running or other vigorous activity. Up to one in five runners get shin splints. It’s common in athletes, dancers and people in the military.
Shin splints are linked to repeated stress on your bone and the tough membrane that covers it (the periosteum). This leads to inflammation, which causes shin pain and tenderness along the inside edge of your tibia.
Causes of shin splints
The exact cause of shin splints isn’t known. But you may get shin splints if you’re putting too much stress and strain on your shin bone (tibia) and the tissues around it. If you keep putting too much stress on your bone, it may become inflamed.
You're more likely to get shin splints if:
- you’re a woman
- you’re overweight
- you’ve just started doing a new vigorous activity
- your sport or activity involves running or jumping on hard surfaces, such as a road or uneven surfaces
- you don’t have a lot of running experience
- your shoes don't fit well, are worn out or don't have enough cushioning and support
- you have flat feet
- you have knees that turn inward
Other causes of shin pain
Sometimes shin pain is caused by something other than shin splints.
- Stress fractures. These are small breaks in your tibia, caused by repeated stress on the bone.
- Muscle strain. This can happen when you overstretch certain muscles in the front of your leg. This damages some of the muscle fibres.
- Tendon problems (tendinopathy). Overloading or overusing a tendon can cause shin pain and swelling.
- Chronic exertional compartment syndrome (CECS). The muscles in your lower leg lie within an enclosed compartment of tissue. In CECS, pressure builds up within that compartment, making it harder for blood to flow into the muscle. This reduces the amount of oxygen reaching your muscle, leading to pain.
Symptoms of shin splints
The main shin splint symptoms are shin pain and tenderness along the inner side of your lower leg. The pain is usually a dull ache that you get after exercise. It can be very severe.
You may notice, the:
- pain begins when you start to exercise
- pain seems to get better as you continue to exercise
- pain goes away when you rest
- painful area of your leg feels tender if you touch it
If your shin pain is very bad or gets worse, speak to your physiotherapist or GP. They can check to see what might be causing your shin pain. For more information about these, see our section Other causes of shin pain.
The pain from a stress fracture tends to get worse from one workout to the next. And the pain and tenderness are usually only in a small area, over the fracture. If the muscle in your leg is swollen and feels tight as well as being painful, you may have compartment syndrome.
Diagnosis of shin splints
If you have shin pain, you can try to manage it yourself with rest and painkillers before you see a physiotherapist or GP. For more information, see Self-help for shin splints. See a physiotherapist or your GP if:
- the shin pain is so severe you have to stop exercising straightaway
- the shin pain isn’t getting better or is getting worse
- the shin pain continues even if you stop exercising and rest your leg
- you have shin pain when you’re resting without an obvious cause, such as doing a new activity or exercise regime
- your muscle feels very tight and hard, which could be a sign of compartment syndrome
- you have swelling over your shin bone
If your GP thinks you have shin splints, they may suggest you see a physiotherapist. They may sometimes refer you to a specialist in sport and exercise medicine. This is usually only available privately. Your physiotherapist or GP will ask about your symptoms and examine you. They may also ask about your medical history and how often you exercise. Shin splints can usually be diagnosed without doing further tests. If you do need a scan, it’s likely to be an MRI scan . And your GP may arrange an X-ray to rule out other causes of shin pain, such as a stress fracture.
Self-help for shin splints
Here are some things you can do yourself to treat shin splints.
- Stop doing the activity that caused your shin splints and rest for several weeks. Instead, do other activities that put less strain on your legs, such as swimming or cycling.
- If you need shin pain relief, you can take over-the-counter painkillers, such as ibuprofen or aspirin. Always read the patient information that comes with your medicine.
- Try ice packs to help relieve any pain. Wrap your ice pack in a towel – don’t put it straight onto your skin. Hold it in place for 20 minutes after exercise.
- Gently stretch your calf muscles. One example of an exercise is to stand with both feet on a step, with your heels off the edge. Raise yourself up on the balls of your feet. Then slowly lower your heels to below the level of the step. Return to your starting position. Repeat this 10 times, rest briefly then do another 10 (three sets in total), every day.
- Shock-absorbing insoles for your shoes may help to cushion your feet when you run. Specialist running shops can give you advice and information about your sports shoes.
- Start exercising again when you have been pain-free for at least two weeks. Start slowly and build up gradually. If you get shin splints again, stop the activity. Rest for a day or two before starting the exercise at a lower level of intensity.
- Run on a soft surface such as grass or a treadmill, rather than on hard roads.
It’s important to listen to your body – find a level of exercise that you can tolerate. Slowly build on that, while you allow your shin enough time to heal.
Treatment of shin splints
Shin splints can usually be treated at home. But see your physiotherapist or GP if the shin pain is very bad or isn’t getting better. The main shin splints treatments are physiotherapy and shoe inserts.
Physiotherapy
If you see a physiotherapist, they’ll create a plan to treat your shin splints. This will include shin splint exercises to stretch and strengthen the muscles of your lower leg and reduce the stress on the bones.
A physiotherapist can show you the best way to increase your level of activity once the shin pain has gone. They may also help you improve the way you walk or run, which can help to prevent shin splints coming back.
Shoe inserts (orthotics)
Specially-made orthotic insoles for your shoes may help to treat and prevent shin splints. Your GP may refer you to a podiatrist who can fit these. These insoles might work by changing the way you walk or run, if this could be causing your shin splints. Or they may work by reducing the stress on your tibia.
Physiotherapy services
Our evidence-based physiotherapy services are designed to address a wide range of musculoskeletal conditions, promote recovery, and enhance overall quality of life. Our physiotherapists are specialised in treating orthopaedic, rheumatological, musculoskeletal conditions and sports-related injury by using tools including education and advice, pain management strategies, exercise therapy and manual therapy techniques.
To book or to make an enquiry, call us on 0330 127 7805
Prevention of shin splints
There are lots of things you can do to help prevent shin splints.
- Wear sports shoes or trainers that cushion and support your feet properly. Consider getting running shoes fitted at a specialist running shop.
- When you start or restart an activity, build up the intensity gradually.
- Wear orthotic shoe inserts if your doctor or physiotherapist recommends them. Cushioned insoles may help too.
- Avoid training just on hard surfaces, such as roads.
- Do some stretching exercises for the front of your calves before you do any physical activities or sports. Use warm-up exercises that are like the kind of exercise you’ll be doing, such as lunges or squats.
- Alternate low impact exercise, such as swimming, cycling or using a cross trainer with your higher impact activity.
No, you can’t run or exercise with shin splints for a while. Although frustrating, you really do need to stop doing what caused the shin splints until the pain no longer returns. But this doesn't mean you have to give up exercise completely. You can keep active by doing sports that put less strain on your shins, such as swimming or cycling.
See our self-help for shin splints section for more information.
If you have shin splints, you’ll feel pain in your lower leg when you exercise. The shin pain is usually along the inner edge of the lower two-thirds of your tibia (shin bone). It can be quite severe. This area may also feel tender to the touch. The pain goes away when you rest.
See our symptoms of shin splints section for more information.
Shin pain from shin splints comes on when you exercise and goes away when you rest. This will keep happening until you take a long period of rest from the activity that caused it. This may be from two to six weeks, but may be longer.
See our treatment of shin splints section for more information.
To get rid of shin splints, you need to stop doing the activity which caused the pain for a period of at least two to six weeks. Then very gradually build up your activity again. A physiotherapist can help you recover from shin splints and advise you how to prevent it in the future.
See our treatment of shin splints section for more information.
You may have come across the use of supports, such as compression stockings or taping for treating or preventing shin splints. At the moment, there’s no strong evidence that either of these treatments work. If you’re considering using them, talk to your physiotherapist about how they may help you.
If you put too much stress and strain on your shin bone (tibia) and the tissues around it, it may trigger shin splints. You're more likely to get shin splints if you’ve just started doing a new vigorous activity, or you don’t have a lot of running experience. And if your shoes don't fit well, are worn out or don't have enough cushioning and support, it can trigger shin splints too.
See our causes of shin splints section for more information.
Knee pain
Over-the-counter painkillers
Common running injuries and how to prevent them
Running can cause injury – especially if you’re new to it. Look at some common running injuries and ways to manage them.
Other helpful websites
Discover other helpful health information websites.
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