SHIN SPLINTS AND FOREFOOT CONTACT RUNNING - A CASE-REPORT

Many athletes develop shin splints after athletic activity. The purpos e of this case report is to describe the treatment of a patient with p osteromedial tibial pain (shin splints) who habitually ran with a fore foot contact running style. The 20-year-old male patient, who played v olleyball and basketball about 7 hours a week, complained of pain in t he middle one-third of the posteromedial tibia after an acute but prol onged episode of running. Routine observational analysis and in-shoe p ressure analysis of the patient's running style showed that he habitua lly ran on his toes with an absence of heelstrike (forefoot contact ru nning). After instructing the patient on heel-toe running, he no longe r complained of posteromedial tibial bone pain. Several possible reaso ns are proposed for the reduction of leg pain following cessation of f orefoot contact running. This case report proposes forefoot contact ru nning as a possible contributor to posteromedial shin splints and that a change in running style may be the optimal treatment for some patie nts.