Sharp pain in the front of your shin? PERIOSTITIS.
Injuries, just like good workouts and other factors, are all part of our everyday sporting life.
Periostitis is a pain or discomfort that mainly shows up with one clear symptom: stabbing or intense pain in the front of the shin. This injury is nothing more and nothing less than inflammation and tenderness of the membrane that covers all the bones in our body (in this case, the tibia).
Several factors can cause it: wearing the wrong shoes, using (or not using) orthotic insoles (or insoles that need adjusting), repeatedly running on hard surfaces, etc.
Here are some key tips to help you recover:
- At the slightest symptom that makes you suspect periostitis, check whether anything has changed in your daily routine, whether that's new shoes, other aches and pains, or even a change in where you usually train.
- Ice the area twice a day for 5-10 minutes, making sure the ice isn't in direct contact with your skin so you don't get an ice burn.
- If you can't get to a physiotherapist, you can try a home remedy, but only if the pain is mild. Otherwise, we don't recommend trying it:
- Grab some kind of cream or oil you can massage with, so your fingers glide over the area and you can work on it.
- Rest your leg on something lower than where you're sitting (a chair, sofa, stool, etc.), so your calf is free of tension and completely relaxed.
- Apply the cream or oil to your shin and work on the part of the bone that hurts. You should press with your finger as if you were trying to separate the bone from the muscle. It hurts, but when the periosteum gets inflamed, what actually happens is that the inflamed membrane sticks to the bone.
- Once again, apply ice to bring the swelling down.
If the symptoms persist, you should consider taking some of the following steps:
Run fewer kilometers, swap running for impact-free sports (elliptical, swimming, pool running, etc.) for a few days, or even rest – and we recommend seeing a specialist.
Mary González and Andreu Novakosky – Professional athlete and nationally certified athletics coach.