How long do shin splints usually last

What are shin splints?

Shin splints describe a type of pain in your shinbone (tibia). The pain is often caused by overuse (running and jumping). Shin splints usually heal within a few weeks, with rest and proper treatment.

Symptoms of shin splints

You can get shin splints in one or both of your legs. Most people who have shin splints feel pain on the inside edge of their shinbones. Pain may be acute (sharp) or a dull ache. Your shins may hurt when you’re active and/or inactive or shortly after completing activity. The pain may be worse with pressure or exercise. It may improve with rest and at-home treatment.

What causes shin splints?

Shin splints occur from repeated and often high-impact motion. They cause inflammation where your muscles and tendons connect to your shinbone.

Some people have an increased risk of getting shin splints. This includes people who:

• Play sports (such as running, dancing, and gymnastics)
• Exercise on hard surfaces
• Wear ill-fitting or worn-out shoes
• Have flat feet
• Pronate (roll their feet in) when they walk or run
• Increase training times, levels, or distances too fast
• Are new to a high-impact sport

How are shin splints diagnosed?

Call your doctor if:

• Pain does not improve with rest
• Your shin area is swollen, red, or hot to touch

Your doctor will review your symptoms, activity, and health history. They may order tests, including an X-ray or MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). These help rule out other issues, such as a stress fracture. This is a small crack along the bone.

Can shin splints be prevented or avoided?

Athletes who are at risk of shin splints can take some precautions. Runners should choose shoes that fit well and absorb shock. Shoes start to lose shock resistance after about 250 miles of use. Try running on softer surfaces, such as a track or treadmill. Do not increase training too fast if you are new or getting back into running. Dancers and gymnasts can exercise on sprung floors, if available. Cross training with low-impact activities also can help. Examples of these include swimming and using an elliptical machine.

Shin splints treatment

Treatment for shin splints depends on the degree of your injury and your health. You can try at-home treatments, such as the following.

• Decrease activity or rest. Identify what motions affect your shins most and limit or stop these. If your pain doesn’t improve, switch to low impact exercises or rest from all activity.
• Ice your shins. You can ice your lower leg a few times a day. Use ice packs, ice massage, or an ice bath. This can help reduce swelling and ease pain.
• Pain medicine. You can take a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) or acetaminophen to relieve pain and swelling.
• Stretching is important to prevent and treat injuries. With shin splints, you should stretch your calves, Achilles tendons, and ankles well. Continue these stretches even after you are well.
• Massage also can help in releasing and relaxing your muscles. Try massaging your calves, Achilles tendons, and other muscles surrounding your shins.
• Kinesiology tape (KT tape). This is a type of flexible athletic tape. There are specific applications depending on your injury. KT tape may help relieve pain from shin splints and provide support.

Your doctor may recommend getting physical therapy. This can help with pain, but also strengthen your leg muscles. Athletes can try using orthotic shoe inserts or arch supports. These help realign your feet and absorb shock. Ask your doctor for suggestions.

Living with shin splints

Begin treatment right away if you have symptoms of shin splints. This can help reduce long-term damage. It can take several weeks or months for shin splints to heal. Once the pain is gone, you can gradually return to your normal routine. Start slow to prevent reinjuring yourself. Talk to your doctor if you have chronic (ongoing) shin splints.

Questions to ask your doctor

• How do I know if I have shin splints or another lower leg injury?
• What should I do if I have chronic shin splints?
• Can I exercise while I have shin splints?

Shin splints occur when you have pain in the front of your lower leg. The pain of shin splints is from the inflammation of the muscles, tendons, and bone tissue around your shin. Shin splints are a common problem for runners, gymnasts, dancers, and military recruits. However, there are things you can do to heal from shin splints and prevent them from getting worse.

Shin splints are an overuse problem. You get shin splints from overloading your leg muscles, tendons or shin bone.

Shin splints happen from overuse with too much activity or an increase in training. Most often, the activity is high impact and repetitive exercise of your lower legs. This is why runners, dancers, and gymnasts often get shin splints. Common activities that cause shin splints are:

• Running, especially on hills. If you are a new runner, you are at greater risk for shin splints.
• Increasing your days of training.
• Increasing the intensity of training, or going a longer distance.
• Doing exercise that has frequent stops and starts, such as dancing, basketball, or military training.

You are more at risk for shin splints if you:

• Have flat feet or a very rigid foot arches.
• Work out on hard surfaces, such as running on the street or playing basketball or tennis on a hard court.
• Do not wear the proper shoes.
• Wear worn out shoes. Running shoes lose over half of their shock absorbing ability after 250 miles (400 kilometers) of use.

Symptoms include:

• Pain in one or both legs
• Sharp or dull, aching pain in the front of your shin
• Pain when you push on your shins
• Pain that gets worse during and after exercise
• Pain that gets better with rest

If you have severe shin splints, your legs may hurt even when you are not walking.

Expect that you need at least 2 to 4 weeks of rest from your sport or exercise.

• Avoid repetitive exercise of your lower leg for 1 to 2 weeks. Keep your activity to just the walking that you do during your regular day.
• Try other low impact activities as long as you do not have pain, such as swimming, elliptical machine, or biking.

After 2 to 4 weeks, if the pain is gone, you can start your usual activities. Increase your activity level slowly. If the pain returns, stop exercising right away.

Know that shin splints can take 3 to 6 months to heal. Do not rush back into your sport or exercise. You could injure yourself again.

Things you can do to ease discomfort include:

• Ice your shins. Ice several times a day for 3 days or until pain is gone.
• Do stretching exercises, especially over the front part of the shin.
• Take ibuprofen, naproxen, or aspirin to decrease swelling and to help with pain. Know these medicines have side effects and can cause ulcers and bleeding. Talk to your doctor about how much you can take.
• Use arch supports. Talk with your doctor and physical therapist about wearing the proper shoes, and about special shock-absorbing insoles or orthotics to wear inside your shoes.
• Work with a physical therapist. They can use therapies that may help with the pain. They can teach you exercises to strengthen your leg muscles.

To prevent shin splints from recurring:

• Be pain-free for at least 2 weeks before returning to your exercise routine.
• Do not overdo your exercise routine. Do not return to your previous level of intensity. Go slower, for a shorter time. Increase your training slowly.
• Warm up and stretch before and after exercise.
• Ice your shins after exercise to decrease swelling.
• Avoid hard surfaces.
• Wear proper shoes with good support and padding.
• Consider changing the surface that you train on.
• Cross train and add in low impact exercise, such as swimming or biking.

Shin splints are most often not serious. Call your health care provider if:

• You have pain after several weeks even with rest, icing, and pain relievers.
• You are not sure whether your pain is caused by shin splints.
• Swelling in your lower legs is getting worse.
• Your shin is red and feels hot to the touch.

Your provider may take an x-ray or perform other tests to make sure you do not have a stress fracture. You will also be checked to make sure you do not have another shin problem, such as tendonitis or compartment syndrome.

Lower leg pain - self-care; Pain - shins - self-care; Anterior tibial pain - self-care; Medial tibial stress syndrome - self-care; MTSS - self-care; Exercise-induced leg pain - self-care; Tibial periostitis - self-care; Posterior tibial shin splints - self-care

Kubinski A, Amendola A. Medial tibial stress syndrome (shin splints). In: Miller MD, Hart JA, MacKnight JM, eds. Essential Orthopedics. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 159.

Mugleston BJ, Krabak BJ. Caring for and counseling the youth runner. In: Harrast MA, ed. Clinical Care of the Runner. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 21.

Pallin DJ. Knee and lower leg. In: Walls RM, Hockberger RS, Gausche-Hill M, eds. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 9th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2018:chap 50.

Stretanski MF. Shin Splints. In: Frontera, WR, Silver JK, Rizzo TD Jr, eds. Essentials of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 4th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2019:chap 78.

Updated by: C. Benjamin Ma, MD, Professor, Chief, Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service, UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, San Francisco, CA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team. Editorial update 09/29/2021.

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