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Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staff
Shin splints are caused by an overload on the shinbone and the connective tissues that attach your muscles to the bone. The overload is often caused by specific athletic activities, such as:
- Running downhill
- Running on a slanted or tilted surface
- Running in worn-out footwear
- Engaging in sports with frequent starts and stops, such as basketball and tennis
Shin splints can also be caused by training too hard, too fast or for too long.
References
- Shin splints. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00407. Accessed Oct. 7, 2008.
- Callahan L, et al. Overview of running injuries of the lower extremity. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Oct. 2, 2008.
- Handout on health: Sports injuries. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Sports_Injuries/default.asp. Accessed Oct. 7, 2008.
- Wilder RP, et al. Overuse injuries: tendinopathies, stress fractures, compartment syndrome, and shin splints. Clinics in Sports Medicine. 2004;23:55-81.
