Shin Splints (Medial tibial stress syndrome, Runners Shins)
This over loading injury can be a real pain and ruin your training. Expert physio can sort it quickly getting you back your sport quick smart. This is a condition that affects many sports people of all ages and activities. It is caused by over loading of the muscles that connect from the foot up onto the shin.
These muscles are crucial in the shock absorbing function of the foot as it strikes the ground when walking or running. Overloading the tissue can cause microscopic trauma where the muscle joins the bone. It is quite common for sports people, who have changed either their training schedule, foot ware, running surface or sporting activity.
A classic presentation is people doing pre-season training for winter sports on playing fields that are still hard from the summer.
Pain is usually felt in the front and inside of the shin. It often starts hurting after activity and if the condition progresses pain starts during activity.
If you have shin splints and would like one of our expert therapists to help get you better, feel free to contact us by calling us on 07855 848161or by emailing info@thameswayphysio.com. You can also use the contact form below.
Factors That Affect Shin Splints
- Foot biomechanics (flat feet in particular)
- Footware
- Training surface
- Variations in training intensity, duration or frequency.
- Fitness for activity
- Skill level for activity
- Course and Prognosis of Shin Splints
This is often determined by the cause. If it is just from a slight increase in training activity as part of a pre-season schedule then they can settle with ice and stretching. I
If the cause involves greater or more sustained force then treatment with physiotherapy is probably needed.
Treatment Options
RICE is always the first and immediate choice. Reduce the loading so that the tissue has the opportunity to heal. This can be achieved by changing your current exercise regime to a safe level, stretching the calf and by wearing orthotics.
The calf can be loosened by stretching, fascial release, trigger point release or acupuncture.
At Thamesway we can assess your feet and supply the highest quality off the shelf or fully custom made orthotics. We source our product from Rightstride Orthotics ®, one of the UK’s leading orthotic suppliers.
Knee Pains and Sprains
The knee is one of the most injured of all the human joints. Often knee pain is caused by hip and foot problems. The knee is a modified hinge joint that bends to hold our weight and absorb the shock of landing and straighten to push us on our way.
If you follow high level sport you will know that it’s commonly injured. Just ask Michael Owen, Andrew Flintoff, Rafael Nadal or just about every downhill ski racer that ever lived!
Statistically it’s the most injured joint in the body.
Out of Balance
Knee pain can be caused by traumatic injury or by repeated overloading of the joint. It’s very important that the alignment of all its parts is just right. If not it can cause strong pain.
Both the foot and the hip joint can affect the normal twisting motion around the knee. Quite often this goes out of balance and treatment can involve orthotics for the feet and exercises for the hip to restore normal knee function.
Arthritis
Osteoarthritis is early wear and tear in a joint. Knees are one joint that tends to show wear and tear through our lives. The number of joint replacements performed these days is very large.
Physiotherapy may not be able to stop the process of wear and tear but we can help manage the problem so that you may be able to delay that operation for a number of years. Physiotherapy could be just the thing to help you manage your knee pain, improve your quality of life and avoid an expensive operation.