Shin splints is a catch-all term for pain along the shin bone, and it turns up almost every time someone increases their running suddenly — new to running, back after a break, or training for something.
What usually causes it
- Too much, too soon. By far the most common. The muscle and bone adapt more slowly than fitness improves, so the legs are asked for more than the tissue is ready for.
- Hard surfaces or a sudden change of surface.
- Worn shoes, or new shoes that are wrong for you.
- Tight, overworked calves, pulling on their attachments along the shin.
- Restricted ankle movement, changing how force travels up the leg.
An important distinction
Shin splints is muscle and bone-lining irritation spread along the shin. A bone stress injury is different: pain at one specific point you can cover with a fingertip, which gets worse as you run rather than easing, and which hurts when you hop on that leg.
That distinction matters. Bone stress needs rest and often imaging, not massage. If your pain is one focused point rather than a diffuse ache, say so at assessment — treating a stress fracture with soft tissue work is a way of turning six weeks off into six months.
What treatment involves
Soft tissue work through the calf complex and the muscles along the shin to release what is pulling, plus work on ankle mobility.
Then load management, which is the actual cure — a graded return to running that builds tissue tolerance rather than testing it.