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Medial tibial stress syndrome is a common overuse injury in the leg of runners or athletes who run a lot, especially on the road or other hard surfaces. In the past it used to be called ‘shin splints’, named after a common condition of the shin of horses.It is a swelling that occurs in the structures that surround the bone.

The most common cause of the problem is a combination of poor foot biomechanics, poor running shoes, poor training regime and tight muscles. Poor foot biomechanics includes things like feet that roll inwards at the ankle joint or an arch that collapses too much. A common contributing factor is running shoes that do not support the heel and arch area and are stiff across the ball of the foot. A poor training regime usually includes things like doing too much training too soon, when they really should be building up slowly. Calf muscles that are too tight are also a major contributing factor.

The initial symptom of medial tibial stress syndrome is pain along the inside edge of the shin bone or leg. The first symptoms are usually mild enough so they do not interfere with the running routine. If any of the risk factors are not addressed, then it usually gets worse until it interferes with the running program. Some experts this that medial tibial stress syndrome can progress to a stress fracture.

The treatment for medial tibial stress syndrome in runners is to initiate some activity modification like cutting back on the amount of running and maybe substituting some other activity like cycling or swimming and then building up slowly back to the original amount of running. The poor foot biomechanics is usually treated with good foot supports or foot orthotics. Running shoe advice needs to be given so they get the most appropriate shoes for their style of running. Calf muscles stretches needs to be initiated to deal with the calf muscle tightness and the runners needs to be counselled as to the most appropriate training routine techniques.

Podiatry Arena has the latest information on medial tibial stress syndrome.

Technorati Tags: running, sports medicine

Tags: running, sports medicine

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 8th, 2009 at 3:31 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.