So you think you've got shin splints. What are they? We address the big question of "what are shin splints?" in this article.
The dull-ache or burn in your shin bone can be quite a nuisance when walking or running. And treatment can be difficult, long and arduous. In this article, I quickly run through whether or not those shin splints will ever go away.
Quick Recap: What are shin splints?
Shin splints are described as a dull ache on your shinbone and clinically referred to as "medial tibial stress syndrome." Quite simply, your shin bone is under too high a load, and it is unable to handle it.
What does MTSS feel like?
If your pain isn't in the area highlighted in red in the image above, you might be experiencing "anterior" shin pain. No cause for concern; however, this is usually an entirely different injury. For information on how to treat anterior shin splints, check out this article here.
So, will your medial tibial stress syndrome (MTSS) ever go away?
Expect 250 - 300 days!
What?! Unfortunately, 90% of sufferers of MTSS can expect almost a year to return to pain-free running. Dutch researchers noticed this in a randomised controlled trial with three groups of subjects:
- Graded running program (gradually building up volume)
- Graded running program + strengthening and stretching
- Graded running program + calf compression sleeves
A quick point from the above, there was no noticeable difference across the three groups. In addition to other research, this highlights that calf compression sleeves offer no therapeutic benefit when measuring your recovery time. We address this some more in this article assessing the benefits of compression sleeves.
In the above study, we saw 50% of runners take about 110-days. In other papers, the typical return is upwards of 100 days with regular treatment interventions.
Can they go away quicker?
Up until this point, we know your shin splints will go away if you get diagnosed and treated correctly. It just takes a long time.
Do you really have to wait between 110 and 300 days? Not anymore!
The team at Solushin® were all victims of this long wait time. So, we set out to use our engineering, medicine, and design skills to develop the Solushin® medical device.
The Solushin® Provides Instant Pain Relief!
Pain relief provided by Solushin®
After undergoing a double-blinded randomised controlled trial, the Solushin® demonstrated an ability to reduce pain instantly and help you return to pain-free running in roughly 35-days (typical results).
Just wear the Solushin® for 30-minutes to 2-hours after exercise to get back to running with no shin pain, faster.
Want to learn more about the Solushin®?
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About the author:
Ben Lindsay is the Managing Director and engineer behind the Solushin medical device. A former national medalist swimmer, Ben aspires to learn from physicians, physiotherapists and podiatrists so he can develop tools to improve the quality of care for their patients.