The weather is now warming up and this means a lot of people are spending more time outside, be it social or athletic in nature. For you gym rats like me, this is always a great time of the year because now we have less people to contend with for the equipment we want to use! For those of you venturing outside, be careful as you may fall victim to medial tibial stress syndrome.

Medial tibial stress syndrome, more commonly referred to as shin splints, isn’t something that just athletes can get, but the common person as well. Now if you have never had shin splints before or don’t know what they are, they are characterized by pain in the front part of your lower leg(shin area). There can be a lot of causes for shin splints, some more serious then others, but the most common causes are from over exertion of the muscle group, increasing activity, intensity, and duration too quickly, and more commonly for this time of year a change in the surface you run on.

Now, the reason I am bringing this condition up is because a lot of us are going from running on a treadmill to running outside on the asphalt this time of year. If you don’t think there is a difference from running on a treadmill to running on the street, you couldn’t be more wrong. Depending on the type of treadmill you are using, it can absorb anywhere from 5-15 percent of the impact force! Compared to running on the street which isn’t absorbing anything, this change of impact can cause some problems for your body.

If you are experiencing shin splint, you should go see your doctor to make sure it isn’t a more serious issue such as stress fractures. For most shin splints cases it just take time and rest to recover. To help prevent them, make sure you have good support in your heel and your shoes aren’t old or worn out. Also, make sure you gradually ease into more strenuous exercise, or alternate days from running on a treadmill to running outside until your body adjusts to the new stress. You can also do exercises to help strengthen the area, and stretches to increase flexibility.

-Scott