Does leg pain prevent you from being as active as you would like? When athletes or runners experience leg pain below the knee, it is usually shin splints. “Shin Splints” is a general term used to describe lower leg pain associated with running or increased activity.

Shin splints are usually caused by abnormal stress to the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones in the lower extremity.

This condition may occasionally feel worse in the morning, once the leg has rested throughout the night. However, shin splints are normally most painful when forcibly trying to lift your foot up at the ankle and flex your foot during physical activity. This motion is called “dorsiflexion” and is an integral ankle movement when running.

Factors that contribute to shin splints may include overpronation of the foot, inadequate stretching, and wearing worn or poorly fit shoes.

Another problem associated with shin splints is a misalignment of the talus (ankle bone).

When you run, the talus rotates relative to the two lower leg bones (tibia & fibula). Eventually, after prolonged stress to the foot and ankle, the talus will lose its healthy alignment and it will become locked in that rotated position. This is a misalignment problem and it causes great stress on the lower leg.

When the ankle bone loses its healthy alignment it will cause the two lower leg bones to splay apart slightly. This causes ongoing stress to several of the calf and leg muscles.

Continued running will exacerbate this condition causing the shin pain to become unbearable. Eventually, the runner or athlete will have to cease all activity for a period of time until the pain subsides. However, there is a viable solution to shin splints without having to discontinue your activities.

Chiropractic adjustments to the foot, ankle, and knee will alleviate the stress on those strained leg muscles, tendons and ligaments.

Our expertise with adjusting the feet, ankles, and knees is very unique for chiropractic. The majority of chiropractors focus primarily on the spine, whereas we provide our patients with Full Body Chiropractic Care™ including adjustments to the spine as well as the feet and other extremity joints.

If you or someone you know is dealing with shin splints, we recommend a chiropractic evaluation of the ankle, foot, and knee. Thank you for referring others to us for chiropractic care.