Medial tibial stress syndrome (MTSS) also commonly knows as “shin splints” and as medial tibial traction periostisis is a very common overuse injury. With MTSS the athlete presents with pain along middle or lower half of the posteriormedial border of the tibia during loading activities such as running, walking, and jumping (2,3,4). Shin splints make up 60% of all lower leg injuries in all athletes, 4% to 20% in military personnel, and 9.5% specifically to runners (5). Garnock et al, explained that MTSS recovery times can range anywhere from 4 weeks up until 18 weeks with a reoccurrence rate of 20-30x in those individuals who with a history of MTSS compared to those without a history (4).

Unfortunately, for those athletes experiencing this injury ceasing training to is recommended especially if their pain surpasses a level 4 on a 10 point pains scale (5). For many years now, researchers and clinicians have attempted to find a definitive cause to MTSS as well as the best course of treatment but have fallen short.

Continue reading this post to find out what shin splints are, and what the top risk factors