Acupuncture for Shin Splints

How Chinese medicine understands shin splints

The inner edge of the shin is where the Spleen channel runs, and the front of the shin carries the Stomach channel. In Chinese medicine, pain along these lines after heavy use is usually seen as local Qi and Blood stagnation: repeated strain on the tissue slows circulation, and the area becomes sore, tender and tight.

Why one runner gets shin splints and another does not is where the pattern matters:

• Qi and Blood stagnation from overuse. The classic picture. Pain comes on with training, is fixed and tender, and eases with rest. Treatment moves circulation through the lower leg.
• Spleen Qi deficiency. In Chinese medicine the Spleen is linked to the muscles. When it is weak, muscles tire early and do not recover well between sessions. People with this pattern often feel generally tired or have a weak appetite. Treatment also supports recovery.
• Liver Blood not nourishing the sinews. Calves cramp, tendons feel tight, and flexibility is poor. Treatment nourishes as well as moves.

Most people with shin splints have overuse plus one of the other two. The overuse explains the pain; the pattern helps explain why the tissue could not keep up.

What treatment involves

The first visit includes a lot of questions about your training: how much, how often, on what surfaces, in what shoes, and what changed before the pain started. I also look at your tongue and take your pulse, and ask about sleep, energy and diet.

Acupuncture is usually the main treatment. Points along the shin and calf aim to ease pain and relax the tight muscles, and points elsewhere on the body address the pattern. I treat the whole body at every treatment, not only the area that hurts. Needles are very fine, between 0.14 and 0.30 mm.

Tuina massage can work the calf and the muscles along the shin. Cupping on the calf is often used to loosen tight tissue. When recovery is the weak point, Chinese herbal medicine is a formula written for your pattern and dispensed at the clinic.

Treatment works best alongside a sensible change in training load. Plan on 5–10 treatments to judge progress. The clinic is in Keswick; the first visit takes 75 minutes and follow-ups take 60.

Between visits

• Cut the load, not all activity. Reduce distance and impact until the shin settles, and keep fit with cycling, swimming or pool running.
• Build back slowly. When you return to running, increase distance gradually, and avoid adding speed and hills in the same week.
• Check your shoes. Running shoes wear out. If yours have many kilometres on them, or the soles are worn unevenly, replace them.
• Ice after activity. A cold pack wrapped in a cloth for 10 to 15 minutes can ease soreness.
• Strengthen calves and hips. Calf raises and hip exercises help the leg absorb each landing. A physiotherapist can set a program for you.

When to see your doctor first

See your doctor before starting treatment, or promptly if you are already coming in, if:

• Pain is in one small, very tender spot on the bone, or hurts at rest or at night. A stress fracture needs to be ruled out.
• Pain started with a fall, a twist or a direct blow.
• Your lower leg is tight, swollen and painful during exercise, with numbness in the foot, and the symptoms ease only after you stop. This can be compartment syndrome.
• Your calf is swollen, warm, red or painful at rest, especially after a long trip or surgery. This can be a blood clot. Seek care the same day.
• You have had repeated stress fractures, or irregular or missing periods with heavy training. These need medical assessment.