• Pain along the inside or front border of the shin bone (tibia).
• Mostly, the pain generally reduces once you warm up during your run.
• In the chronic stages of shin splints, the pain progresses with activity e.g. slowly increases over the course of a run/sport. Whilst growing pains may occur later in the day.
• Shin splints rarely occur with walking and are normally associated with impact activities, e.g. running, jumping, skipping etc.

Shin splints can be caused by many factors and is generally seen in active/sporty children of all ages. Many kids presenting to FNQ Podiatry and Orthotics for children’s shin pain treatment, have the following risk factors:

• Sudden increase or change in activity. E.g. after the Christmas break of school holidays and then returning to sport.
• Inadequate footwear for their biomechanical needs.
• Pronating or flat feet.
• Rigid, non-flexible high arched feet.
• Footwear that isn’t suitable for the type of activity.
• Failure to warm up or lack of conditioning.
• Tight lower leg muscles.

A thorough biomechanical assessment including Cairns VALD Strength Testing, will most commonly be enough to diagnose shin splints or growing pains. Depending on severity of symptoms, children may/may not be referred for an x-ray to see if there are any stress fractures or reactions present. For extreme cases who do not respond to conservative children’s shin pain treatment Cairns, an MRI or bone scan will be utilized. However, this is extremely rare.

Our children’s shin pain treatment options in Cairns, are largely tailored around addressing your child’s risk factors. Given this, the initial consultation will involve a thorough foot and lower limb biomechanical assessment, to determine what the contributing factors are. As with most foot problems, early treatment is the best form of children’s shin pain treatment as this will help reduce your chances of it turning into a chronic condition.

Common Treatment Options For Children’s Shin Pain Cairns

• Strapping to help reduce traction of the muscles against the tibia.
• Ice therapy along the shins post activity.
• Regular calf and foot/ankle stretching protocol.
• Strengthening program to address any underlying weaknesses including adequate warm ups.
• Soft, custom Cairns orthotics to help reduce pulling of the muscles against the shin bone. Or footwear alterations.
• Dry needling/massage to help loosen off tight muscles.
• Altered training load to help reduce pressure through the area for the short-term or rest from the sport for a few weeks.
• For severe cases of shin splints or if a stress fracture is suspected, a moon boot will be recommended for a minimum of 4-6 weeks to help rest the area.

As mentioned above, the earlier you seek children’s shin pain treatment Cairns, the quicker the pain will get better. A lot of people think the pain will get better on its own and keep training. This results in a lack of early intervention and symptoms quickly escalating into a chronic issue. Our clinics provide effective Cairns children’s shin pain treatment, for a range of patients. So, if you or any of your children are suffering from shin pain, contact our clinic today for a biomechanical assessment and we will get you on the road to recovery. Call (07) 4045 5749.