Leg > Shin Splints > Treatments

   R.I.C.E., Medication, Physical Therapy

Rehabilitation

Physicians typically prescribe a combination of R.I.C.E. (Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation), anti-inflammatory medication, and physical therapy to heal your shin splints. Immediately after you are diagnosed with shin splints, you may want to follow the first-aid routine known as R.I.C.E.:

   Rest – Physicians generally recommend relative rest for as long as necessary to ease your pain, which means decreasing the duration of your exercise by 50 percent or more, and increase the time between workouts. Even walking around may strain the lower leg muscle attachments to your shinbone.

   Ice – Initially, your physician may recommend applying ice packs to the shinbone for about 20 minutes every three or four hours. You will probably need to do this for two or three days or until the pain subsides, and you may need to continue to ice after exercise or activities for a few weeks.

   Compression – Wrapping your shinbone can help hold the calf muscles close to the bone and keep the muscles warm. There are many different types of bandages. A neoprene calf sleeve or calf taping also may be helpful when you begin exercising again.

   Elevation – Though swelling is rarely an issue with shin splints, your physician may recommend raising your lower leg to a level higher than the heart to help circulate fluid out of your lower leg.

Most patients receive adequate pain relief from non-prescription painkillers like aspirin or ibuprofen. You may have prescription strength anti-inflammatories prescribed if you suffer excessive inflammation. Pain medication should only be used for the first few weeks. If pain has not subsided by then, you should call your physician to schedule a check-up. After one or two weeks, your physician may prescribe heat treatments. Reusable heat packs that can be put into the microwave are commonly obtained through your physician.

Your physician's staff usually teaches you stretching and strengthening exercises to perform on your own to rehabilitate your leg and help prevent the recurrence of shin splints. Patients sometimes are referred to a physical therapist. Athletic trainers may be able to help treat shin splints by taping your ankle, the arch of your foot, and your lower leg. Taping can help hold your foot level if you have either flat or high arches, which can cause abnormal rotation of your foot when you are running.

In conjunction with avoiding precipitous alterations in actitivies, making lower leg stretching and strengthening part of your everyday workout routine is typically the best way to prevent shin splints from recurring. Be sure to stretch all your leg muscles, not just the lower leg muscles, before and after exercise. Flexibility from your hip to your ankle is important for maintaining balance in your running stride. As shin splints heal, try to avoid training errors. Active people often want to return to a high fitness level too quickly. For example, after rehabilitation you may be able to start running three miles a day without pain. You may decide to increase your workout to four and then five miles a day over the course of the next week. This is too rapid an increase. To prevent shin splints from recurring, physicians generally recommend that you slowly increase the duration of your activities. If you feel minor pain developing around your shinbone, try to decrease the impact of your activities with cross-training techniques. Alternating between running and cycling, swimming, or cross-country skiing can reduce the strain on your lower leg muscles while maintaining your aerobic fitness. If you are suffering from chronic shin splints, physicians generally recommend that you continue icing your lower leg after activities to relieve pain - not as a treatment toward healing, but for the sole purpose of relieving pain.