Lower leg
Shin Splints — North Vancouver
That aching, tender line down the inside of your shin that shows up a few weeks into ramped-up training. We find why the lower leg can't absorb the load yet — and build it back without letting it slide into a stress fracture.
What it is
Understanding your shin splints.
Shin splints is the catch-all name for pain running along the front or inner edge of the shin, where the muscles and connective tissue attach to the bone. It usually reads as a dull ache or a tight, sore band that lights up during activity and quiets with rest. Runners, dancers, and anyone who's recently cranked up their training volume know it well.
It's almost always a load problem. The muscles and tissues around the shin get overworked when the impact arrives faster than they can absorb it — too many kilometres added too quickly, too much pounding on hard or uneven ground, tight calves with stiff ankles, weak lower-leg and core muscles, worn-out shoes, or feet that overpronate and shift the strain onto the inner shin. Stack a few of those and the shin starts complaining.
It's worth taking seriously because shin splints sit on a spectrum. Ignore the warning ache and keep loading through it and the same overload can tip toward a tibial stress fracture or a more stubborn tendon irritation. Part of our job is reading where on that spectrum you are — and pulling back hard if the pain pattern looks like bone rather than muscle.
What to expect
Caught early and managed sensibly, shin splints often settle within a few weeks once load is dialled back and the lower leg gets stronger. The slower cases are usually the ones that trained through the pain for months — those need a longer, more careful rebuild. If the assessment points toward bone stress rather than muscle, the timeline changes and we'll be upfront about a period of offloading before you load again.
Get a plan
Not sure if we're the right fit?
Send us a quick note about what's going on. A physiotherapist — not a receptionist — will read it and reply with what they'd recommend. No commitment to book.
Common questions
About shin splints.
How do I know it's shin splints and not a stress fracture?+
Shin splints tend to ache along a length of the shin and ease once you warm up or rest. A stress fracture is usually more pinpoint, hurts to press on one spot, and often gets worse as you keep going rather than better. We can't always tell on examination alone — if the pattern looks like bone, we'll send you for imaging rather than risk loading a fracture.
Do I have to stop running on Fromme and Seymour while it heals?+
Not always completely. Often it's about reducing volume, easing off the steep technical descents that hammer the lower leg, and swapping some sessions for lower-impact work while we build capacity. If the shin's reactive enough — or we suspect bone stress — we'll pull you off impact for a stretch and tell you why.
Will new shoes or orthotics fix it?+
They can be part of it, but they're rarely the whole story. Worn-out shoes and poor foot mechanics genuinely add load to the shin, so we'll address them — but the bigger levers are usually training load, calf and foot strength, and giving the tissue time to adapt. We'll fit orthotics if the mechanics warrant it, not by default.
I get it every time I start training for a race. How do I stop the cycle?+
That pattern almost always traces back to ramping volume faster than the lower leg can adapt. The fix is a smarter build — progressing mileage in tolerable steps, keeping calf and foot strength up year-round, and watching surface and cadence. We'll map out a return-to-run progression so the next training block doesn't end the same way.
This page is for general information only and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Individual presentations vary — assessment findings and treatment plans differ from person to person. If you are experiencing severe symptoms, neurological changes (numbness, weakness, bowel or bladder changes), or a significant trauma, contact your physician or emergency services. Physiotherapy at Medstar Sport Physio & Health is provided by physiotherapists registered with the College of Physical Therapists of British Columbia (CPTBC).