My husband has terrible shin splints....?

Question

I had them when I was in Lacrosse and just put Icy Hot....whats the best way to help him out?

Answer 1

I had shin splints back in high school I used lots of icy hot and found great way to rap my ankles to prevent pain while walking

Answer 2

The best way to treat them is to find the cause!

The main approach I tend to take towards shin splints is to find out the cause of the problem. You get shin splints from over use of certain muscles in your lower leg. These muscles are working to hard for some reason and can be due to a number of things.

It could be due to unconditioned muscles working too hard (eg you have just started a vigorous exercise program and your muscles are not strong enough).

The other main reason is the muscle overuse can be due to biomechanical insufficiences. This is commonly seen in people who's feet roll-in and the arches flatten (excessive pronation). Your lower leg muscles aim to stop this motion and can become over-worked; hence resulting in the pain and shin splints.

To treat the damaged tissue, as stated previously, RICE is a great method as well as massage and heat. Good footwear is also essential. Anti-inflammatory medications work really well in reducing the pain during activity, however they do not fix the problem. (Best to talk to your pharmacist before taking these meds).

However if there is a biomechanical problem underlying this then this needs to be rectified or the pain will most likely return. Most commonly this is done through good footwear and foot orthotics.

Check out the link below for more information on the biomechanical sides of things and foot orthotics.

I hope this helps.

Regards,

Lloyd