Bone/Shin splints…

I’ve included ”shin splints” with bone injuries, mainly because people often feel tenderness along the side of the shin bone when they touch it.

Bone injuries can either be acute (eg fractured ankle), or occur due to repetitive overload (eg stress fracture). Usually bone heals very well with appropriate treatment, although for some injuries problems can occur if they are not diagnosed and treated soon enough. So it’s important to obtain an accurate diagnosis quickly.

One short point to remember, with boney injuries, its not just about how much you run, or how fast you increase your mileage. Changes to load not directly related to total mileage may include changes to your technique, intensity, running more hills, or even changing footwear. Boney stress injuries can also occur if the “resilience” of your body gets reduced by other factors such as diet, stress, poor sleep, or illness.