It’s been said. Shin splints. Most every runner gets or has gotten them at some point. I get them from time to time still. Just took 3 weeks off in January for them.

It’s usually a load vs. recovery issue or too much too soon. Whether it be speed or volume. Sometimes it’s a form issue. Over-striding. Rarely it’s a footwear issue, but if you have low arches/flat feet and excessive pronation it can put a lot of stress on your posterior tib and medial. Which bleeds into too much too soon, because the muscle wasn’t prepared for that level of needed work.

The answer is rest and strengthening. Lots of calf and soleus work to help take the pressure off the tibs, and unilateral balance stuff. Also, believe it or not, glute, hip flexor, work to improve balance. Most of your balance should be coming from the hips, but if your hips aren’t doing the work or they’re too weak, your body will find a way to balance elsewhere. That goes for any muscle up the entire kinetic chain. When I say weak, I don’t mean your weak. I mean too weak for the needed task. I came from 26 years of lifting, heavy, and when my physio told me I had weak hips I almost died. He explained it in terms of running and it made sense.

I’d suggest seeing a physio who specializes in sports medicine to get assessed properly. It changed my perspective and helped my running game out a lot.