Shin splints typically cause pain and tenderness along the front and sides of your lower leg, particularly during and after exercise.

The pain can present as a dull ache or throbbing and may occur alongside swelling.

The main cause of shin splints is overactivity during exercise, particularly if you’re running or jumping on hard surfaces which causes stress to calves.

Shin splints are more common in people who have weaker ankles, hips or core muscles. Weight may also be a contributing factor for shin splints.

The condition is also common in those who have flat feet, or if you’re wearing ill-fitting shoes during exercise. Essentially, if you lack support from the ground up, you’re more at risk of developing shin splints.

Our bodyworkers can define the root cause of your shin splints. They’ll create an treatment plan tailored to your needs, to strengthen and stabilise your legs, ankles, hips and core, so that your body is prepared to deal with high impact sports.

Our bodywork therapists will reduce the tightness of your muscles, while stimulating the healing ability of your muscles and tendons by increasing healthy blood flow to the affected areas.

You may also find it beneficial to speak with one of our naturopaths, who can give you dietary and supplement recommendations in order to speed up your recovery and improve the health of your muscles and joints to prevent re-injury.

As shin splints can be caused by the muscles of the legs being too weak to sustain the weight of the body, a strategy to simultaneously lose weight and strengthen your leg muscles may be necessary. Our osteopaths, naturopaths and nutritionists can support you through this process.