In the past, the medical term shin splint was used to diagnose almost all problems occurring in the lower leg. These included both bone and soft tissue problems and those that overlapped. Now doctors use the terms medial tibial stress syndrome, compartment syndrome, and stress fracture to describe injuries of the lower leg. These are discussed earlier in this chapter.

Defining the Problem

Most athletes refer to pain occurring either in the anterior or the medial portion of the leg as a shin splint. Problems that occur in the lateral aspect of the leg are usually either stress fractures of the fibula or peroneal tendon injuries following an inversion injury of the ankle. Posterior lower-leg pains are frequently injuries to the posterior muscle group at the myotendinous junction of the calf muscles and Achilles tendon, or early Achilles tendonitis.