With winter sports season beginning, so does the season of more chronic leg pain in our athletes. I am going to start a mini series of Chronic Leg pain in athletes based on this research article, Chronic Leg Pain in Athletes.

Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome or MTSS is an exercise induced leg pain, more familiarly known as true shin splints. This is the most common chronic leg pain in athletes and actually occurs for almost 5% of all athletic injuries. MTSS is “described as exercise- induced pain along the middle to distal posteromedial aspect of the tibia, estimated incidence between 13-22% of injuries in runners and dancers and 35% in naval recruits.” With MTSS, there may also be an increase in discomfort with resisted ankle plantar flexion, such as jumping.

Basically MTSS is a boney overload injury where the load on the bone causes “the tibia to bend during weight bearing activities causing a strain”. Then this strain will cause small damages inside of the bone which ultimately leads to changes and adaptation in efforts to strengthen the bone to decrease bending to occur.

Initially with MTSS most studies support rest as the most important recovery tool in early phase, others include cryotherapy, compression, elevation, stretching, physical therapy and pneumatic leg bracing.

It is also recommended that “modifying training routines, stretching and strengthening the lower extremity, wearing appropriate footwear, using orthotics and manual therapy to correct biomechanical abnormalities, and gradually returning to activity.”

Stay tuned for some stretches and exercise videos to help you at home.