Shin Splints
At Bulletproofbodies We have recently had lots of people asking us about shin splints, so hear is the way to Bulletproof your shins.
As we at Bulletproofbodies know, the first thing to do any injury is to get an accurate diagnosis.
Put simply, know your enemy.
So what exactly is shin splints?
Shin splints is actually a bit of a misnomer and should really be referred to as “exercise-induced leg pain”, as I will explain.
The most common type of exercise-induced leg pain is medial tibial (shin bone) stress syndrome (MTSS) which doesn’t exactly role off the tongue, but is a more accurate term.
The other two main types are a stress fractures or compartment syndrome / biomechanical overload syndrome.
MTSS occurs when the muscle that inserts just behind the shin starts to pull away from the bone.
There is a sheath around the bone called the periosteum, and this can get inflamed as a result of the pulling away, and cause pain.
If this inflammation of the periosteum persists, because someone continues to run without attempting to treat it, then it may go on to cause a stress fracture.
A stress fracture is not like a traumatic fracture that occurs suddenly. It is a continuum. So it may start with a worsening of the inflammation around the periosteum, and then slowly go into the bone itself.
The good thing about this is if it is caught early enough, it is possible to prevent a full-blown stress fracture. And this is definitely something you want, because a stress fracture can mean being put in a boot and no running for around 12 weeks.
Chronic Exertional Compartment Syndrome (CECS) literally means that the different muscles that make up the calf – which are split into compartments – get too big for the muscle sheath they are in and can cause quite severe pressure pain.
This can also be known as Bio-mechanical overload syndrome and refers to either anterior or posterior compartments of the lower limb.
Changes to your running mechanics can help but require time and effort to re-train.
Single leg calf raises are a great test for the Capacity of your muscles, less than 25 reps has been associated with injury.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZH67U-UA7Y
