The key difference between shin splint and stress fracture is that shin splint is caused by inflammation and microtears in muscular attachments and tissue around the shin bone, while stress fracture is caused by a tiny crack in the bone in the lower leg, hip, or foot.
Overuse injuries are sports-related microtrauma that occur due to repetitively using the same parts of the body. It is usually caused by overtraining. Microtrauma is defined as a small injury to a bone, muscle, tendon, or ligament. Overuse injuries are more common in sports like running. Shin splint and stress fracture are two different overuse injuries.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Shin Splint (Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome)
3. What is Stress Fracture
4. Similarities – Shin Splint and Stress Fracture
5. Shin Splint vs. Stress Fracture in Tabular Form
6. FAQ – Shin Splint and Stress Fracture
7. Summary – Shin Splint vs. Stress Fracture
What is Shin Splint?
Shin splint, also known as medial tibial stress syndrome or MTSS, develops when there is an irritation in the area where the calf muscle attaches to the shin bone. Shin splint can be caused by running on a slanted surface or downhill, participating in a sport with frequent starts and stops, training errors, shoe wear, and changes in training intensity, duration and surface. The risk factors for this condition are abnormalities in ankle and foot alignment, lower extremity flexibility, and strength. Moreover, the symptoms of shin splints may include lower leg pain while running, with the pain often subsiding once running is stopped.
Figure 01: Shin Splint
Shin splint can be diagnosed through a patient’s history, physical examination of the lower leg, X-rays, and MRI. Furthermore, treatment options for shin splints are modification of activities to allow the inflammation and pain to resolve, applying ice, taking anti-inflammatory medication, physical therapy, lower extremity strengthening and stretching programs, and special shoe inserts (orthotics).
What is Stress Fracture?
A stress fracture is a tiny crack in a bone in the lower leg, hip, or foot. It is often caused by increasing an activity’s intensity too quickly. The risk factors for this condition are certain sports (track and field, basketball, tennis, dance, or gymnastics), increased activity, sex (women who have abnormal menstrual periods), foot problems, weakened bones, previous stress fractures, and lack of nutrients. The symptoms of this condition may include pain that starts and worsens during physical activity, pain that does not improve after stopping the activity, heightened discomfort during rest, tenderness to even a light touch on or near the affected area, and swelling.
Figure 02: Stress Fracture
Stress fractures can be diagnosed through physical examination, X-ray, MRI, CT scan, and whole-body bone scan. Furthermore, treatment options for stress fracture may include resting, applying ice, over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs) and acetaminophen, elevating the injury, compression, immobilization, use of crutches, and stress fracture surgery.
What are the Similarities Between Shin Splint and Stress Fracture?
- Shin splint and stress fracture are two different overuse injuries.
- Both are more common in sports like track and field.
- They cause intense pain.
- Both conditions can be diagnosed through physical examination, imaging studies, and bone scans.
- They can be treated through specific medications and surgeries.
What is the Difference Between Shin Splint and Stress Fracture?
A Shin splint is caused by inflammation and microtears in muscular attachments and tissue around the shin bone, while a tiny crack in the bones of the lower leg, hip, or foot causes a stress fracture. Thus, this is the key difference between shin splint and stress fracture. Furthermore, the risk factors for shin splint are abnormalities of ankle and foot alignment, lower extremity flexibility, and strength. On the other hand, the risk factors for stress fracture are certain sports (track and field, basketball, tennis, dance, or gymnastics), increased activity, sex (women who have abnormal menstrual periods), foot problems, weakened bones, previous stress fracture, and lack of nutrient.
The infographic below presents the differences between shin splint and stress fracture in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.
FAQ: Shin Splint and Stress Fracture
How do you tell if it’s shin splints or stress fractures?
Shin splints will usually only flare up and cause pain when you’re running. In contrast, stress fracture pain will flare up much more frequently.
What are the most common signs of a stress fracture?
- Pain starts and gets worse during physical activity.
- Pain that doesn’t get better after stopping activity.
- Pain that’s more noticeable when you’re resting.
- Tenderness to even a light touch on or near your affected bone.
What is the fastest way to heal a stress fracture?
Applying ice and taking pain medications to control symptoms is the fastest way to heal a stress fracture.
Summary – Shin Splint vs. Stress Fracture
Overuse injuries are sports-related microtrauma that result from using body parts repeatedly. Shin splint and stress fracture are two different overuse injuries. However, a shin splint is caused by inflammation and microtears in muscular attachments and tissue around the shin bone, while a stress fracture is caused by a tiny crack in the bone in the lower leg, hip, or foot. So, this summarizes the difference between shin splint and stress fracture.
Reference:
1. “Shin Splints: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment.” WebMD.
2. “Stress Fractures.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Shin Splints” By InjuryMap – InjuryMap – Free Human Anatomy Images and Pictures. (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Medial tibial stress fracture” By Pete Jelliffe (CC BY-ND 2.0 DEED) via Flickr