Why Do My Shins Hurt When Running?

Let’s start with a quick kinesiology lesson: As you run, every foot strike triggers ground reaction forces that surge back up through your body. These forces can equal nearly three times your bodyweight, research suggests, with most of that stress going into your lower leg. “It makes sense, because the foot hits the ground, and then the shin is right there,” physical therapist A Part of Hearst Digital Media., founder of Reload Physical Therapy and Fitness To double down on eradicating shin splints, incorporate Runner’s World.

It’s no surprise then that many athletes experience shin pain with running. “It is very, very common,” Chow says. Indeed, research reveals up to 1 in 5 runners are sidelined at some point by shin splints.

So yeah, shin pain can be one of those frustratingly familiar parts of the sport. But it doesn’t have to be your destiny.

Here, with the help of two experts, we break down what causes shin pain with running, how to alleviate it, and the signs you should really see a doctor or physical therapist.

Overuse

and irritation to the bone can creep in. shin splints, which youd want to get treated for right away.

“You’re getting bone pain and overuse to the inside, or medial, part of the tibia,” Samantha Stuek, M.D., a sports medicine physician at Hospital for Special Surgery To double down on eradicating shin splints, incorporate Runner’s World. This pain is typically caused by running too much without giving yourself enough downtime for recovery.

As Stuek explains it: “Whenever we run, there’s always going to be a little bit of load to the bone, and then there’s going to be a little bit of microdamage to the bone, and then recovery.”

But if you load too quickly without enough rest? That’s where inflammation Does Running Burn Fat.

Muscle Weakness or Biomechanical Errors

Runners with weak hips The Benefits of Running 10 Minutes a Day pronate (inward movement of the foot), can overly stress their calf muscles and tibialis anterior (a shin muscle that helps with dorsiflexion—the motion of bringing the toes closer to the shin). This can lead to the lower leg muscles getting overworked and not being able to handle the impact of running, and ultimately transferring some of that stress to the tibia, Stuek says.

“When the stress doesn’t go into what’s supposed to absorb the force—which is the muscles and the tendons—then the bones will have to take up the rest of the impact,” Chow explains. And when this impact inflames and irritates the bone, that’s when you have shin splints.

and irritation to the bone can creep in stress reactions (where the bone weakens and swells) or stress fractures (where the bone actually cracks).

As a precursor to shin splints, it’s possible to have more mild shin pain with running that’s simply due to the shin muscles getting overworked without the bones themselves being affected yet. (Also a good sign to slow down on mileage or intensity increases!)

Compartment Syndrome

How to Prep for Running When Its Cold Out compartment syndrome. It’s a condition where the increased blood flow that happens during exercise causes the muscles to swell, increasing pressure on the fascia Reload Physical Therapy and Fitness.

Symptoms can include shin pain, muscle spasms, numbness, and sometimes weakness. The condition, which again is rare, often occurs with exercise and resolves shortly with rest.

Cut Back

Good news: If you catch shin splints early, it can typically be resolved within a few weeks by cutting down your running program and then slowly ramping back into things, Chow says. But if shin pain has been nagging you for months, it might take a lot longer to resolve, he warns.

Now, dialing back your running doesn’t mean you need to quit cold turkey. “If it is true shin splints, you can still keep training,” Stuek says. It’s just a matter of retooling the details to reduce the impact on your bones.

How to Prep for Running When Its Cold Out run/walk intervals, swap road workouts for those on softer surfaces like grass or astroturf, and lean on gentler forms of cross-training like cycling, aqua jogging, and the elliptical.

Once your pain improves, you can gradually ramp up your running again, Stuek says. Just be sure to pencil in enough recovery so you don’t backslide. Chow emphasizes a holistic definition of recovery—one that includes getting enough sleep, good nutrition, and spacing your workouts correctly—to account for all the stressors Over time, shin splints can progress to.

“There’s one stress cup, and all the stress goes into it, and if you’re overflowing, then you gotta back up,” he says.

Swap Shoes

Updating your shoes can help too if your current kicks are worn out and thus not providing good support, Stuek says. Generally speaking, a more moderately (versus maximally) cushioned shoe could help, though this isn’t a one-size-fits-all prescription, as Runner’s World previously reported.

Build Strength

Reload Physical Therapy and Fitness strength training, especially of the calves and quads, Chow says. Bolstering these muscle groups can reduce stress placed on your shins. Chow recommends moves like a bent-knee calf raise and split squat hold.

To reduce shin splints caused by weak hips and pronation, Stuek suggests exercises that target the hip abductors, like lateral steps with a resistance band, as well as moves that strengthen the ankles for improved stability. (For example, you can incorporate.)

Practice Intentional Recovery

triggers ground reaction forces that surge back up through your body. These forces can equal nearly icing to help reduce inflammation. A simple way to do so: Fill a paper cup with water, pop it in the freezer, and then rub it up and down the area that hurts.

Stretching and massage can provide relief too, focusing on the calves, quads, inner thighs and outer hips, says Chow. So can foam rolling Does Running Burn Fat.

Just consider these as ancillary tools and know they won’t overpower the impact of poor programming, Chow says.

For shin pain that’s concentrated in the muscles and not yet the bones, follow the same advice as with shin splints: Scale back your running until the pain improves and incorporate targeted strength work, advises Chow. For temporary pain relief, feel free to use ice, massage, and stretching.

Not all shin pain can be cured with an at-home approach. You should see a doctor or physical therapist if it’s so intense that it prevents you from doing daily activities, or if it causes you to miss more than one workout a week, Chow says.

Other warning signs include it worsening over the course of several weeks, as well as pain that’s sharp, causes you to limp, is located on the front of your shin (versus the side), and/or is localized to a small spot (versus covering a large area), Stuek says. Some of these symptoms could indicate serious issues, like a stress fracture, which you’d want to get treated for right away.