Why Do My Shins Hurt When I Run?

There are few feelings more deflating than having your early morning run prematurely halted by a sudden and sustained aching in your shins. All your planning goes out the window when that time you set aside for running comes to a grinding, painful halt.

The dreaded sensation you’re having may well be shin splints. On the one hand, shin splints are so frequent among trained runners and other foot-focused athletes that they’re practically a rite of passage. Still, that’s minor consolation when you now find yourself sidelined with a pair of injured legs and falling behind on your workout schedule. 

Instead of running through your neighborhood, you’re now sitting at your kitchen table researching how you developed shin splints in the first place. You’ve come to the right place — here are some reasons why your shins hurt when you run, and how you can potentially prevent it.

Editor’s Note: The content on BarBend is meant to be informative in nature, but it should not be taken as medical advice. When starting a new training regimen and/or diet, it is always a good idea to consult with a trusted medical professional. We are not a medical resource. The opinions and articles on this site are not intended for use as diagnosis, prevention, and/or treatment of health problems. They are not substitutes for consulting a qualified medical professional.

What Causes Shin Splints? 

The good news is that shin splints are not caused by the literal splintering of your shins, although it may feel like that at times. All the same, they are caused by activity that clearly compromises the muscles, tendons, and bone tissue in and around your shins, which are formally known as your tibia (informally, your shin bone). 

The repeated impact of your feet upon the ground is the usual prerequisite to shin splints, as your tibias and their surrounding areas are forced to adapt to the constant pounding of running and cross-training. (1)

Shin splints usually happen when your legs are struggling to accommodate new forms of stress. (2) This might be because you suddenly ratcheted up the intensity of your runs during Fartlek training, turning your casual jogging segments into sprint workouts. 

[Read More: What You Need to Know About Muscle Recovery]

Or it could be because you boosted your overall weekly workload, perhaps too quickly for your body to adjust to. Either way, an increase in the duration or intensity of your training is a reliable recipe for the onset of shin splints.

Note: It’s generally a good practice to check in with a physician, physical therapist, or another licensed sports medicine professional when you’re uncertain about the origin of workout-related pain. Especially if your pain is especially severe or persistent, you might want to check to make sure that you’re experiencing shin splints rather than a stress fracture or other overuse injury.

How to Deal With Shin Splints 

Rest(or run) assured — you’re not cursed to always run at the same volume or intensity for your lower leg training. Instead, you’ll have to embrace rest, only progress gradually, and perhaps switch up your running shoes, technique, or the types of high-impact surfaces you’ve been running on.

The other bit of good news is that even if you’re in the midst of a bad shin splint episode, research suggests that with the proper set of rehabilitative procedures, the worst phase of your shin splints can subside relatively quickly. This might be in a matter of days, ranging up to a few weeks in duration. (3)

Rest Your Legs

Especially in the case of overuse injuries, it can be very challenging for an injury to subside if an athlete continues performing the very same activities that caused it. As such, your first step toward alleviating your symptoms is a step away from the track or treadmill. 

You may have to pause running or jumping-related activities for two to six weeks (or longer if symptoms don’t subside) until the most severe discomfort of your shin splints is safely behind you. (3) That doesn’t mean you need to stop training entirely. The wide world of upper body workouts is still available to you, as are low-impact activities like swimming.

[Read More: Everything You Need to Know About How to Increase Strength]

When you are ready to get back into running, don’t go full throttle right away. In many cases, easing back into the training process necessitates a 50-percent reduction in running duration, distance, and intensity. (3) 

Only gradually increase one training variable at a time each week. If you’re going to increase your mileage by five percent, don’t increase your speed yet. First, get comfortable with the new mileage. Then go faster. Trying to do it all at once will likely land you a seat back on the couch.

Ice Your Shins

Since shin splints are caused by the overuse of the tissues around your shins, one of the quickest ways to relieve the swelling of those tissues is to apply ice. While topical or oral over-the-counter painkillers like ibuprofen may help you contend with the pain, ice goes beyond the masking of the pain. It can help reduce the swelling and return your shins to their proper working order.

[Read More: Omega 3 Benefits — More Muscle, Better Recovery, and Enhanced Endurance ]

If ice is applied frequently — usually 15 to 20 minutes at a time for several times per day — you should expect the pain and swelling from your shin splints to be greatly attenuated. Still, you may want to take caution not to overdo it, as icing injuries and repeatedly neutralizing your body’s natural healing responses is presently suspected of elongating injury recovery times. (4)

Wear Proper Footwear

While overuse and impact are common causes of shin splints, the damage to your shins can be accelerated and intensified if your shoes can’t withstand the demands of your runs. Lacking natural arch support won’t help, and working out with shoes that can’t blunt the impact of your feet against the ground can exacerbate the problem. (5)

There’s no one uniform running shoe that fits everyone’s needs. Your choice will depend on the shape of your foot, whether you’re a toe striker, midpoint striker, or heel striker when you run, and what kinds of shoes have worked best to support you in the past. 

[Read More: The 7 Best Treadmills for Running]

If you’re a new runner and don’t know your style yet, some running sneaker stores may be able to assess your gait. Certain stores are equipped with treadmills to help assess your running form, whether you overpronate, or other key pieces of information to help select the right running shoes for you.

Consider orthotics or insoles to help To assist you in making the best choice for your feet and gait, you may want to consult an orthopedic specialist or other relevant healthcare professional.

Alter Your Training Routine 

Resting your shins to alleviate the pain of shin splints doesn’t mean your cardiovascular efforts need to cease completely. In this particular instance, a reduced-gravity training method like swimming will permit you to maintain a consistent workout schedule while placing minimal stress on your shins. (3)

Beyond that, you can remain upright during your training as long as you don’t aggravate your injuries. In practice, this can mean that you opt to walk either outdoors or on a treadmill as opposed to running. This will help you avoid the intense impact of running. Or, you may opt to get your cardio in by biking or training on an elliptical machine.

You may also opt to focus on strength training for a while, building your leg muscles as a primary focus of your exercise routine for a time.

How to Prevent Shin Splints 

While it’s a great idea to understand your treatment choices for shin-splint recovery, the simplest way to manage your shin splints is never to find yourself beset by them in the first place. This being the case, there are immediate steps you can take to minimize the likelihood that shin splints will ever become the sort of painful malady that grinds your workout routine to a halt.

If you have flat feet, tend to land very heavily while running, or mostly jog on hard surfaces, you’ve probably fallen victim to shin splints at one point or another.

Buy New Shoes

It’s important to know the kind of footwear that best suits your training style. But it is just as important to replace that footwear before it is completely worn out.

[Read More: The 12 Best Cross-Training Shoes]

Consider replacing your running shoes every 500 to 700 kilometers, or roughly every 300 to 500 miles. For people who run daily, this may mean an optimal shoe-replacement point of every three to five months as opposed to once per year.

Avoid Hard Running Surfaces

There’s certainly something reassuring about having a hard, stable surface to run on. But the frequent impact of your feet on cement or asphalt is one of the factors most likely to yield a debilitating case of shin splints. (5)

If at all possible, vary your running surfaces when you train outside, and regularly substitute a course that is more forgiving on your tibias. This includes paths composed of grass, sand, and softer tracks or trails. 

[Read More: Active Stretches Explained — Science-Backed Selections for Optimal Recovery
& Performance]

Strategically, this may prepare you to run in diverse environments during actual races, but from a standpoint of self-preservation, it will reduce the overall wear and tear on your lower body. Softer surfaces are generally going to be easier on your connective tissue, so seek them out where you can.

Strengthen Your Legs

Some forms of lower body soreness are unavoidable during training, especially as you’re becoming acclimated to the rigors of running. However, one of the preemptive measures you can take to avoid the onset of shin splints is to strengthen your hips and calves to improve your form. This is one of the most functional ways to circumvent running practices that can contribute to lower-body injuries. (3) 

[Read More: Put Your Best Foot Forward With the Lunge to Gain More Muscle & Leg
Strength]

In particular, by strengthening your calves through eccentric stretching and resistance training, you can reduce their propensity to prematurely fatigue during runs. With fatigue comes undesirable alterations in form — so stronger calves can mean more efficient, safer runs. (3)

When you’re strengthening your legs — whether through strength training or running — don’t forget to warm up. A thorough dynamic warm-up, including stretching your hamstrings, glutes, quads, calves, hips, and ankles can contribute significantly to a healthier, more sustainable running habit.

Improve Gradually

It might be very tempting to ramp up the mileage very quickly during a workout program. You might be eager to run further and faster as soon as possible. But if you scale up your routine too quickly, your connective tissue, bones, and muscles may not be able to keep up.

As with strength training, use the principles of progressive overload to guide your runs. If you’re increasing your volume, do so by only five to 10 percent each week. Then, increase your intensity (speed) — but not both at the same time. Take it slow to get faster, safer.

A Temporary Setback

Figuring out why your shins hurt when you run might require a trip to a physician for peace of mind and to make sure all is well. But one of the most common running injuries out there is shin splints – and if you’ve got them, you’ve got to rest.

There’s no shame in reducing your intensity, seeking alternative forms of exercise, and getting new shoes for yourself. Gather the courage to know when it’s time to take a break. Rest, then run on softer surfaces in good shoes. You can hopefully prevent a minor break from shin splints from progressing into a far worse type of break.

FAQs

If you’re looking for ways to keep your shins pain-free while you train, this will provide you with some quick answers to your questions.

References

1. Bhusari N, Deshmukh M. Shin Splint: A Review. Cureus. 2023 Jan 18;15(1):e33905.
2. McClure CJ, Oh R. Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome. [Updated 2023 Aug 8]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023 Jan-. 
3. Galbraith RM, Lavallee ME. Medial tibial stress syndrome: conservative treatment options. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med. 2009 Oct 7;2(3):127-33.
4. Wang ZR, Ni GX. Is it time to put traditional cold therapy in rehabilitation of soft-tissue injuries out to pasture? World J Clin Cases. 2021 Jun 16;9(17):4116-4122. 
5. Thacker SB, Gilchrist J, Stroup DF, Kimsey CD. The prevention of shin splints in sports: a systematic review of literature. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2002 Jan;34(1):32-40.

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