The pain will lessen over time as you get stronger. It’s better to switch to low-impact exercises such as swimming, cycling or water running until you heal, she says. ![]() If you develop shin splints, avoid activities that cause pain, swelling or discomfort, but don’t stop all physical activity. In addition, shin splint pain may be more tolerable than pain from a stress fracture. The pain usually lessens after you warm up, Dr. With shin splints, pain often occurs over a broad area, although it may be localized, affecting a small area. How to tell these two conditions apart? With a stress fracture, the pain gets worse as you run and persists in a smaller location after you run, Dr. “Sometimes people don’t realize how much they are doing or how much they are increasing.” How To Tell Shin Splints From a Stress Fracture “The history really clues me in,” she says. Goldberg recommends athletes keep a training log, which can help to identify training errors or pinpoint problems. If a patient mentions shin pain, one of the first things she asks her patients is to review their workout log. “A runner may be progressing with running, but has added other weight-bearing activities such as plyometrics and is not allowing enough recovery time.” “One of the most common causes is a sudden increase in weight-bearing exercise,” Dr. Shin splints and stress fractures happen when you overtax your leg muscles, tendons or shin bone through a sudden increase in training. While they are different medical conditions, shin splints and stress fractures share the same causes: an overload problem, says Laura Goldberg, MD, a pediatric sports medicine specialist with UH Sports Medicine. They also are a common problem for runners, gymnasts or dancers and athletes in high-impact sports such as track and field, basketball or tennis. Stress fractures are tiny cracks in the bone. They are a common problem for runners, gymnasts and dancers. Shin splints happen when the muscles, tendons and bone tissue around your shin bone – the tibia – become inflamed. You can take steps to heal and avoid making the injury worse or getting it again later. Whether your shin pain is due to shin splints or a stress fracture, it’s important not to keep training the same way through either injury. Following the protocols given to you by your provider, will help to ensure a safe and speedy recovery.If you’re an athlete and your shins begin to hurt, you might think it’s “just” shin splints, keep right on with your running program and try to train through the pain.īut that pain between your knees and your ankle could be a stress fracture. Although it can be hard to slow down with a tibial stress fracture, going back to activity ‘too quickly’ can put you at risk for a larger, harder-to-heal fracture, requiring more down time or even surgery. More serious stress fractures can take longer. In most cases, it takes 6 to 8 weeks for a stress fracture to heal, when surgery is not required. To reduce stress on your leg, protective footwear or crutches may be necessary. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medicines may be suggested to help relieve pain and swelling. ![]() Once a tibial stress fracture is confirmed, your provider will discuss best treatment options based on the type of stress fracture (exact location on the bone) and your activity level. It is not uncommon for other forms of imaging, including bone scans, CT scans and MRI to be ordered if your provider suspects there is a fracture present, but not visible on X-ray. In some cases, the signs of a stress fracture may not show up on an X-ray for as long as four or five weeks or may never show up. High impact sports such as running, gymnastics, and volleyball can increase the risk of stress fractures. Stress fractures are normally caused by overtraining or overuse. Other contributors may include repeated stress on the bone from pounding or impact on a hard surface, such as running on concrete. Instability of the leg and occasional loss of feeling in the foot can also be present. ![]() The pain will get progressively worse as more weight is placed on it, eventually hurting while walking or even when not putting any weight on it at all. Swelling may be present at the fracture site. Individuals suffering from a tibial stress fracture typically feel an aching or burning (localized) pain somewhere along the bone. Symptoms are very similar to ‘shin splints’ with gradual onset pain on the inside of the shin. A tibial stress fracture is a hairline fracture of the tibia bone in the lower leg caused by overuse or repetitive stress. It is the most commonly fractured long bone in the body. The tibia (shinbone) is the inner and larger of two bones between the knee and ankle.
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