Are shin splints common in soccer?
William Rodriguez
Published Jan 20, 2026
Shin splints, or medial tibial stress syndrome, are a form of leg injury that causes pain in the lower front area of the leg. The pain often comes from too much stress on the shinbone, its tissues, and the surrounding muscles. Due to the nature of the sport, shin splints are a common injury for soccer players.Shin splints, or medial tibial stress syndrome, are a form of leg injury that causes pain in the lower front area of the leg. The pain often comes from too much stress on the shinbone shankbone, an archaic term for the tibia. › wiki › Shankbone
Do soccer players get shin splints?
Shin splints are an overuse or repetitive load injury, affecting the front of the tibia. Soccer players are at risk for shin splits when training intensity and duration increase or when footwear without appropriate support is used (soccer cleats).
How do soccer players deal with shin splints?
The initial recommended treatment for shin splints is the RICE method: rest, ice, compression, and elevation. For most athletes, this resolves the issue within two weeks. The most important part of this is rest. Your body can't heal if you're continuing to batter it with excess training.
What sports are shin splints common in?
Shin splints: common causes
Shin splints commonly result from overuse. Not surprisingly, they are most common in track and field and other sports that involve a lot of running such as soccer, basketball, and lacrosse.
What sport causes shin splints the most?
While any strenuous physical activity may cause shin splints, you are more at risk if you participate in stop-start sports like tennis, racquetball, soccer or basketball.
44 related questions foundAre shin splints serious?
Also known as medial tibial stress syndrome, shin splints can be painful and disrupt training regimes. However, they are not a serious condition and may be alleviated with some simple home remedies. Shin splints are characterized by pain in the lower leg, on the front, outside, or inside of the leg.
Are shin splints permanent?
Shin splints are not permanent. You should be able to ease pain from shin splints with rest, changing the amount of exercise you are doing and making sure to wear supportive footwear. If your shin splints do not go away over a long period of time, see your doctor.
Can shin splints break your leg?
The excessive force causes the muscles to swell and increases the pressure against the bone, leading to pain and inflammation. Shin splints can also result from stress reactions to bone fractures. The constant pounding can cause minute cracks in the bones of the leg.
Do athletes get shin splints?
Common in athletes and active persons, shin splints refer to pain that develops along the inner edge of the shinbone after muscle and bone tissue become overworked and stressed. They are frequently associated with running activity and generally arise after serious physical activity has been performed.
How do athletes deal with shin splints?
Shin-splint pain can be treated with ice packs applied to affected area for 20 minutes, stretching of the lower-leg musculature and use of over-the-counter analgesics.
Is it OK to play with shin splints?
Technically, you CAN… but you probably shouldn't. For many runners who try to continue running with shin splints, the best case scenario is that they prolong the injury as they're not giving the injured tissue an opportunity to heal.
Why does my shin hurt when I kick a soccer ball?
One of the most common shin conditions is Medial Tibial Stress syndrome, an overuse injury usually caused by kicking and running. The condition is characterized by pain and tenderness in the lower leg, usually along the front edge of the shin.
Why do my legs hurt after playing soccer?
Your muscles are mostly made of proteins. During games, some muscle protein can be damaged; this is a main reason your legs feel sore and weak after games. The good news is that your body is able to build new muscle proteins at two to three times the normal rate after hard exercise.
How can teens prevent shin splints?
To help prevent shin splints from coming back: Wear shock-absorbing athletic shoes with arch support. Replace athletic shoes that don't fit well or are worn out. Increase any exercise routine slowly.
How do shin splints feel?
If you have shin splints, you might notice tenderness, soreness or pain along the inner side of your shinbone and mild swelling in your lower leg. At first, the pain might stop when you stop exercising. Eventually, however, the pain can be continuous and might progress to a stress reaction or stress fracture.
Why won't my shin splints go away?
If your shins aren't rested after your shin splints are treated, then symptoms can easily show themselves again. Inflammation passes quickly, but the cause of inflammation does not. Recurring shin splints are common, and, without full treatment, there is a possibility for permanent injury.
Do shin splints hurt when resting?
Symptoms of shin splints generally get worse with activity and ease with rest. Pain may be worse when you first get up after sleeping as the sore tibialis muscle shortens while you rest, and it stretches painfully when you put weight on your foot.
Are shin splints worse at night?
Shin splints affect the front of the calf and occur when the muscles and the tendons on the shins are overworked. The resulting inflammation can be painful, especially at night.
Does Weight Affect shin splints?
Increased body weight, being overweight, or obesity can lead to a higher risk of shin splints.
How do you get rid of shin splints fast?
How Are They Treated?
- Rest your body. It needs time to heal.
- Ice your shin to ease pain and swelling. Do it for 20-30 minutes every 3 to 4 hours for 2 to 3 days, or until the pain is gone.
- Use insoles or orthotics for your shoes. ...
- Take anti-inflammatory painkillers, if you need them.
Why do shins feel bumpy?
The process of remodeling is the removal of part of the bone that is not strong enough, and replacing it with stronger bone to cope with the increased demand. This explains the bumpy feeling on the shin bone during assessment.
Do shin guards prevent shin splints?
Shin splints can be caused by overuse, shin injuries from other sports or activities such as running and jumping, or shin injury due to wearing improper shoes. To help prevent shin splint pain in these cases, shin guards are a good idea for increased protection against an impact injury.
Do shin guards help shin splints?
Here's our process. Here's why I often wear calf guards for running on paved surfaces: because I found that wearing calf guards can help with shin splints, both preventing them and reducing pain when you have them.
Why do I get shin splints so easily?
You get shin splints from overloading your leg muscles, tendons or shin bone. Shin splints happen from overuse with too much activity or an increase in training. Most often, the activity is high impact and repetitive exercise of your lower legs. This is why runners, dancers, and gymnasts often get shin splints.