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Shin Splints

46 bytes removed, 10:58, 21 December 2011
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== Introduction ==[[File:Gray437.png|right|thumb|500px|a diagram showing the tibialis anterior muscle.]]"Shin splints" is not a specific problem, but a symptom - pain in the shins. This article gives a brief description and some possible courses of action. '''Note that I am not medically trainedAs always, so [[Trust No One]] and take this advice as a starting point for your research.'''
== Description ==
"Shin Splints" is a non-medical term that refers to a general pain in the shin (the lower front part of the leg, between the knee and the ankle). The pain can be in the bone (tibia) or in the muscle (Tibialis Anterior) - see image at to the end of this articleright.
== Underlying Cause ==
=== Option 7 - Go barefoot/minimalist ===
I put this option as the last alternative, as it is not trivial to move from running in a modern running shoe to minimalist running. The move requires relearning how to run, a time consuming process. However, it you cannot modify your foot strike using cadence, conscious modification or barefoot drills, this is your next step. The majority of barefoot runners I have come across move to barefoot/minimalist running because they become desperate to overcome a chronic injury.
[[File:Gray437.png|none|thumb|500px|a diagram showing the tibialis anterior muscle.]]
 
===Option 8 – Bone Scan===
Initially a stress fracture will not show up on an x-ray, though after a few weeks of healing, though there may be some evidence of that repair will visible. To diagnose a stress fracture, a more sophisticated technique is required, such as a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CT_scan CT scan], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MRI MRI], or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone_scan bone scan]. However even these techniques are not completely reliable. Another technique that was used on me is to apply ultrasound; if there is a stress fracture this will produce an intense pain.