Shin Splints

I was hiking in Vermont on Saturday when I was reminded how awful shin splints can feel, and how helpful a little massage could be when you suddenly change your physical activity.

Mine were caused by hiking up and down very steep trails. The muscle just outside your shin worked very hard during this activity to keep me from tripping over my own toes. It held my foot up in the air much longer and required more strength against gravity during the ascending and descending hikes. The muscle's name is Tibialis Anterior, and it became over-contracted, unable to relax even while I was sleeping later that night. It felt harder than normal, and tender to the touch.

This muscle is connected to the shin. So as it's continually contracting, it is pulling on the very sensitive nerve-filled membrane surrounding your shin bone. You feel this irritation each time you put your foot down to take another step. Stress fractures are related, but not the same thing. That is a problem with the integrity of the bone itself, not a force outside the bone pulling on it (the muscle).

So because this is a muscular problem, caused by over-use, massage therapy was a perfect solution. I used a mix of swedish, trigger point, and neuromuscular techniques on Sunday, and on Monday I was back - pain free. Yay massage!