Shin splints, also known as medial tibial stress syndrome (MTSS), are a common lower leg injury. They affect 10–15% of runners and account for up to 60% of leg pain in athletes, both professional and amateur. Characterized by pain along the inside and front of the legs, shin splints are caused by inflammation, irritation, and tearing of ligaments and tendons due to excess exercise. Thankfully, shockwave therapy for shin splints is an ideal treatment.

Shockwave Therapy for Shin Splints

Shockwave therapy uses low-intensity, high-energy acoustic waves to stimulate and compress injured tissues and help regenerate nerves and blood vessels. This can significantly help reduce the pain and swelling associated with shin splints and promote healing overall.

Long-term, additional treatments help encourage further relief because of how it helps heal and grow bone tissue, which is critical for patients with any damage to the tibia and the tissues that connect it to the fibula. And research supports this. To assess the short and long-term effectiveness of shockwave therapy for shin splints, researchers treated patients with MTSS and assessed them at 1-month, 4-month, and 15-month time points. Success of the treatment was reported as 30% at one month, 64% at 4 months, and 76% at 15 months. Furthermore, at 15 months from baseline, 40 of the 47 people in the treatment group were able to return to their preferred sport at their preinjury level!

Why it’s a Win for Your Patients

When runners can’t run without pain, their quality of life is greatly diminished. Invasive surgery or the long-term use of painkillers can disrupt their ability to do what they love and can take a long time to provide real relief. Thankfully, the very nature of shockwave therapy for shin splints makes it ideal for your pro athletes and weekend warriors:

  • It’s non-invasive, with patients reporting no more than a very mild discomfort (most report nothing at all).
  • It’s fast, on average 4 minutes per treatment, with many patients feeling relief right away.
  • There’s no recovery time, so they can tie up those laces and literally run away from the clinic following treatment.

Shockwave therapy for shin splints can give your patients real relief, both short and long-term. Shockwave Canada is proud to be an authorized distributor of Storz shockwave therapy machines. To find out more about bringing this revolutionary form of non-invasive treatment into your clinic, please visit https://shockwavecanada.com today.