Can Chiropractic Care Help Alleviate Shin Splints?
If you’ve ever felt that sharp or dull ache along the inside of your lower leg during or after a workout, you’re likely familiar with shin splints. Whether you’re a runner, a dancer, or someone who’s just ramped up their activity, this kind of pain can throw off your routine and slow your progress.
Most people are told to rest, ice the area, or take painkillers—but those options often only offer short-term relief. What if the real issue goes deeper than sore muscles?
Chiropractic care takes a different approach by looking at how your body moves and whether imbalances or misalignments are making the problem worse. Instead of just treating the symptoms, it aims to get to the root of the pain so you can recover more fully and get back to doing what you love. So, let’s take a closer look!
What Are Shin Splints?
Medically known as medial tibial stress syndrome, shin splints develop when excessive stress is placed on the shinbone and the connective tissues that attach muscles to the bone. The pain typically occurs along the inner border of the tibia, where muscles attach to the bone.
Shin splints commonly develop when there are sudden changes in physical activity—increasing intensity too quickly, training for longer periods, or switching to different surfaces. However, several underlying factors can predispose you to developing this condition, such as:
- Improper foot mechanics or flat feet
- Inadequate footwear for your specific gait and foot type
- Muscle imbalances in the legs and core
- Poor running or walking technique
- Training on hard or uneven surfaces
- Previous leg or foot injuries
These factors create abnormal forces on the lower leg during movement, leading to stress reactions in the bone and surrounding tissues.
While pain along the shinbone is the primary symptom, understanding the broader impact of shin splints helps explain why they can be so persistent. The pain often starts as a dull ache that improves with rest but returns with activity. If left unaddressed, the condition can progress to the point where pain occurs even during normal walking.
Many people also notice swelling or tenderness along the inside of the shin and increasing discomfort when pointing their toes or flexing their feet. These symptoms indicate that the body’s normal biomechanics have been disrupted, setting the stage for chiropractic intervention.
How Chiropractic Care Addresses Shin Splints
Rather than simply masking symptoms, chiropractic care focuses on identifying and correcting the underlying imbalances that contribute to shin splints. This whole-body approach offers several advantages over conventional treatments.
A thorough chiropractic evaluation goes beyond looking at your shin pain in isolation. Your chiropractor will assess your posture, gait, and spinal alignment to identify how your body’s overall mechanics might be contributing to excess stress on your shins.
This assessment typically includes evaluating your foot position and arch support, analyzing your walking and running patterns, and checking for imbalances in your pelvis and spine. Many shin splint sufferers are surprised to learn that their pain originates from misalignments in areas seemingly unrelated to the shins.
Through precise adjustments, your chiropractor can correct misalignments in your spine, pelvis, knees, ankles, and feet. These adjustments help restore proper movement patterns and reduce the abnormal forces that trigger shin splint pain. By improving joint mobility and function, chiropractic care addresses the source of the problem rather than just managing symptoms.
Beyond adjustments, your chiropractor can identify and help correct movement patterns that contribute to shin splints. This might include analyzing your running form, addressing muscle imbalances, and providing guidance on proper foot mechanics.
If shin splints have been limiting your activity and traditional approaches haven’t provided lasting relief, chiropractic care offers a promising alternative. If you’re curious to learn more, your Noblesville chiropractor is here to help! Our team at Anchor Health Chiropractic can help you get back on your feet; book your appointment with us today.
