Medial tibial stress syndrome, or shin splints, is the inflammation of the tendons, muscles, and bone tissue around the tibia. People describe shin splint pain as sharp or as dull and throbbing.

The stretches described here can help you prevent shin splints. And, if you have shin splint pain, they'll help you recover. We also give you some prevention and recovery tips from an expert.

Rest. Rest from all activities that cause you pain, swelling, or discomfort. Active rest is usually fine for shin splints, but you should see a doctor if you think you have a more serious injury ...

The pain is caused by inflammation of the muscles and ligaments that attach the muscle to this bone. If your pain is not in this area or if it is much more localized, you may have a stress fracture.

Shin splint pain, on the other hand, typically happens at the start of a run, but gets better as muscles warm up (though it may return again as muscles fatigue).

Repeat this for 2 to 3 sets of 10. While pain is felt along the shin bone, you may want to focus your strengthening on the hip muscles, namely the gluteus medius and maximus.

If you feel the sudden pain in your shin bone, start R.I.C.E., or rest, ice, compression, elevation. Ice your shins for 15 or 20 minutes, four to eight times a day.

In severe cases, shin splints can even lead to stress fractures. Prior research has found that short courses of outdoor gait training can significantly reduce shin-splint pain for outdoor runners.

While it is generally safe to run on shin splints, the pain won’t go away until you stop doing whatever activity is causing them. My biggest concern is to always make sure the pain is actually ...