
Leg Muscles
also known as shin splints
MTSS, often referred to as shin splints is pain in the inside of the shin.
This will usually happen when a person increases their running all of a sudden. The pain felt is from trauma to the connective tissue of the tibia (shin bone) as the muscles attached to the bone cause pulling forces whilst running or walking.
Predisposing factors for this problem include:-
- Pronating feet
- Tight calf muscles
- Poor strength of the tibialis muscles
- Incorrect running technique
- Repetitive running on hard surfaces such as concrete
- Running with heavy loads e.g. military training
Continued running or aggravation of this problem may result in stress fractures to the tibial bone. It is necessary to rest the shins when this pain occurs to allow healing. Whilst resting, Physio treatment will be aimed at
- Correcting footwear
- Strengthening muscles around the foot and ankle joint
- Improving flexibility of the calf
- Correcting running technique