Shin Splints in Runners

Shin splints aren’t a mystery. They’re a signal. Here’s what to do about it.

Shin splints—medial tibial stress syndrome—are a common overuse injury, especially in runners. The pain usually shows up along the inner edge of your shin and tends to worsen with impact activities like running or jumping.

It’s not a sign that your legs are fragile. It’s a sign that something’s overloaded. The structures in your lower leg—bone, muscle, connective tissue—are being asked to do more than they’re currently trained for.

The fix? It’s not just rest, ice, or changing your shoes. It’s addressing the root cause with better load management, smarter strength work, and a few simple tweaks to how you run.

Let’s break it down.

1. Build the strength to handle the impact

When your body can’t absorb impact efficiently, it passes the load to areas like your shins. Here’s how to spread that load more evenly and give your system a better foundation.

Step 1: Strengthen your calves 
Your calves do a huge amount of work with every step—especially the soleus, which is active throughout your run. Building strength here gives your legs more capacity to absorb shock. 
→ Start with heavy calf raises (both straight- and bent-knee). Add weight over time. Go slow and controlled. Progress matters more than reps.

Step 2: Add plyometric drills 
Hopping, jumping, and landing exercises train your legs to handle real-world impact. Think of them as your shock absorbers. 
→ Try skipping, single-leg hops, or low box jumps. Keep landings soft and controlled. It’s not about power—it’s about how you land.

Step 3: Strengthen your upstream muscles 
Your knees and hips are part of the force-absorbing chain. Strong glutes and quads help take pressure off the lower leg. 
→ Prioritise squats, split squats, step-ups and hip bridges—movements that build control as well as strength.

You don’t need to do everything on this list all at once. But if shin splints keep cropping up, these are the areas to check for gaps in your training.

2. Try adjusting your running cadence

If your shins are taking a pounding, a small change in how you run can sometimes make a difference.

Runners who overstride—landing with the foot well in front of the body—tend to load their shins more. One way to help? Slightly increasing your cadence (steps per minute).

→ Aim to increase your step rate by around 5–10%. That might mean going from 160 to around 170–175 steps per minute. Use a metronome app, music playlist or watch setting to guide you.

This isn’t a silver bullet—but it can reduce braking forces and help spread impact more evenly through your legs. For many, it feels lighter and more efficient after a few runs.

Take it slow. Trial it during warm-ups or short intervals. You’re aiming for small, sustainable tweaks—not an overhaul.

3. Respect the lag—your body needs time to adapt

Shin splints can feel sudden. But the overload that caused them often started days—or weeks—ago.

That’s because tissue adaptation is delayed. Bones and connective tissues don’t respond as quickly as your motivation does. If you push faster than your system can adapt, pain tends to show up later.

So instead of chasing symptoms, manage the stimulus.

- Follow the 10% rule as a rough guide: try not to increase total weekly mileage, pace or intensity by more than 10% per week 
- Change one variable at a time: don’t add hills, intervals, new shoes and longer runs all in the same fortnight 
- Watch for recurring patterns: if symptoms always show up in week three or after speed sessions, take the hint and adjust accordingly

If symptoms are mild and manageable, reducing your weekly running volume by 10% and seeing how your body responds is often more effective than stopping altogether. Staying active—while slightly easing off the gas—can help you maintain fitness and avoid the spiral of deconditioning.

And while the “10% rule” is a useful guideline, it’s not gospel. It doesn’t always apply—especially if your mileage has already increased steadily over several months. In those cases, even a 10% bump could be a big leap. You may need to nudge forward by 1–5%, or simply hold steady for a week or two before progressing again.

Think of it like climbing stairs, not jumping ramps.

Deload weeks—where you reduce mileage, back off intensity, or just keep things consistent—can be invaluable. Especially if your body’s already giving you little nudges that it’s close to the edge.

Load management isn’t about holding back—it’s about pacing your progress. That’s how you stay in the game long enough to improve.

Final thoughts: pain is information, not disaster

Shin splints aren’t random. And they don’t mean you’re broken.

They’re just your body’s way of saying: “This is too much, too soon.” When you listen—and respond with strength, smarter training, and patience—you don’t just feel better. You run better.

Save this list. Share it with your running buddy. And if your shins are still grumbling despite your best efforts, drop us a line—we’ll help you work it out.

References

1. Moen MH et al. (2010). "Medial tibial stress syndrome: a critical review." Sports Med. 
2. Winters M et al. (2013). "Treatment of medial tibial stress syndrome: a systematic review." Sports Med. 
3. Newman P et al. (2021). "Efficacy of eccentric calf training in MTSS." Br J Sports Med. 
4. Diebal AR et al. (2012). "Gait retraining for MTSS." Orthop J Sports Med. 
5. Becker J et al. (2018). "Running mechanics and tibial stress injury risk." Med Sci Sports Exerc. 
6. Bonacci J et al. (2013). "Impact forces and running technique." J Sci Med Sport. 
7. Galbraith RM, Lavallee ME. (2009). "MTSS: A review." Clin J Sport Med. 
8. Milner CE et al. (2006). "Biomechanical factors in runners with tibial stress injuries." J Orthop Sports Phys Ther.