Is it bad to massage shin splints?

If you’re an active person, then you’ve most likely heard of or experienced the infamous shin splints at one point in your life. Shin splints are a common problem for runners and athletes alike that cause pain along the front part of the lower leg. So, what’s the solution? Many people suggest massage therapy as a way to alleviate this painful condition, but is it bad to massage shin splints? Let’s find out!

What Are Shin Splints?

Before we dive into whether or not massaging shin splints is bad, let’s first understand what they are.

Shin splints (or medial tibial stress syndrome) are caused by inflammation in the muscles around your shinbone. This condition often occurs due to repetitive impact on hard surfaces during activities such as running or jumping. Common symptoms include sharp pain along the inner edge of your tibia bone, tenderness when touched, swelling, and redness.

Relief for Shin Splint Pain

For many sufferers of shin splints, relief from pain can be found through various forms of self-care treatments like icing, rest, compression with wraps or sleeves, and elevation.

Massage therapy has also been touted as an effective remedy for reducing discomfort caused by shin splints. But before booking an appointment with a masseuse there are a few things you should consider:

Timing

When dealing with injuries such as these it’s important not to work on them too soon after they’ve occurred as it may worsen things instead.

Severity

The severity of your injury could have implications for how well massage would benefit you if done incorrectly: if there’s bruising then more time might be needed between massages while waiting on natural healing processes

Causes

It’s also important to identify what factors led up to developing shin splits in order implement prevention strategies moving forward – this way you can avoid making the condition worse

Massage Techniques

There are several techniques associated with shin splint massage; some of these include rubbing, stroking or compressing muscles around and below where pain is being experienced. Another technique that could prove beneficial would be myofascial release – a technique which targets muscle knots and improves blood flow

The Pros of Massaging Shin Splints

When done correctly, massaging your shins could have several benefits:

Decreased Swelling

Massage has been shown to stimulate blood flow to injured areas thereby reducing inflammation and swelling

Pain Relief

As aforementioned, when done right self-massager fingers can work wonders on sore muscles by loosening tissue fibers – thus alleviating pain caused through inactivity post exercise inducing growth hormones too

Reduced Muscle Tightness

The process of manipulating strained tissues works by smoothing constrictions out- helping restore free movement in the area

If all goes as planned then there’s no reason why this should not work for most people including athletes!

Cons When It Comes To Massaging Shin Splints

While massages can definitely help relieve muscles after workouts they’re not always perfect! It’s worth noting however it’s important to know what risks/dead-end techniques may fail so we needn’t waste anyone’s time here.

Below are potential downfalls related specifically towards sports person/exercisers who might consider visiting masseuse over using other methods:

Time-consuming

Getting an appointment with any therapist would require clearing schedules first – something difficult when trying maintain an active lifestyle .

May worsen injury if not careful

Massages done wrongly could result in increase joint instability rather than decrease among other complications

Precautions When Massaging Shin Splints

If you decide massaging your shins is something you’d like to pursue (or already do!), following certain guidelines will help keep yourself healthy and reduce risk of injury:

Always start with a warm up

Warming up before any exercise is essential – especially those involving massages! To prepare your muscles for the massage, be sure to go through some basic stretches or even engage in low-impact activities such as walking or jogging. This will help increase blood flow to the area, which can aid in relief from muscle tension .

Seek Professional Help

If this therapy would like to pursued professionally, head over to an experienced masseuse who knows what they are doing – otherwise self massaging is safer

Take things slow!

It’s important not force it during the massage process as overdoing anything often leads worsening conditions instead of positive results

Do Not Ignore Signals From Your Body!

One last thing: if at any point you feel uncomfortable during massage relief treatments do seek medical advice first… our bodies give signals like these for good reasons.

In conclusion, massaging shin splints could prove beneficial when done correctly. Massage provides temporary benefits by improving blood flow and releasing fast-growing hormones that alleviate soreness/chafing;this way injuries recover quickly . However , approaching this remedy carelessly (without proper knowledge/training) could worsen current pain beyond imaginable lengths. When trying out self-massage techniques focus on what feels comfortable while preparing yourself mentally & physically before diving into therapeutic action.With that said there’s no need wonder anymore about whether or not getting a deep tissue form of myofascial release might just be worth checking out health-wise!