I Have Shin Pain When I Run and It Now Hurts When I Walk

Shin pain that starts when you run and now hurts when you walk can mean the repeated impact has left the muscles and tissues around your shin overworked and unable to settle down between activities.

If your shin initially only hurt while running but has progressed to hurting when you walk, the problem is no longer limited to the higher demands of running. Repeated impact can overwork the muscles along the front and inside of your lower leg, including the tibialis anterior and other muscles that help control your foot as you move.

As those muscles and their attached tendons become more fatigued, normal movement can become harder to tolerate. The area may also become tender from repeated stress, so the impact of simply placing your foot down can start bothering your shin even when you are no longer running.

Each Running Stride Keeps Stressing Your Shin

Every running stride repeatedly loads the muscles that control your foot and lower leg.

When you run, your shin has to handle repeated impact while your foot moves through each stride. If the muscles along your shin are already tired or irritated, continuing to run gives them very little chance to relax between steps, which can make the pain increasingly noticeable during the activity.

The Pain Becomes Noticeable With Every Step

Once the area is overworked, ordinary walking can start putting enough demand on it to bring the pain back.

Walking is much less demanding than running, but your shin muscles still work with every step to control your foot and keep you moving forward. After repeated running, that lower-level activity can become enough to aggravate the area, especially when the muscles are already fatigued and the same movement is repeated over and over.

Why Your Shin Pain Keeps Hurting When Walking

Your shin has a hard time healing when blood flow and circulation are limited.

Tendons, ligaments, and other soft tissues naturally receive less blood supply than many other parts of the body. Because of this, they often take longer to heal after repeated stress or injury, leaving you more vulnerable to lingering pain and a cycle of reinjury.

When circulation through the area remains limited, injured tissues have a harder time receiving the vital oxygen and nutrients they need to repair and heal. This can leave your shin feeling stiff, tight, weak, or painful during everyday movement and activity.

What Can Help Your Shin Feel Better

Your shin starts feeling better when blood flow and circulation improve.

Chinese herbs have been used for centuries to promote healthy blood flow and circulation. Their medicinal properties help break up stagnant blood and fluids that remain trapped around injured tissues, interfering with circulation. As circulation improves, blood flows more freely through the area, allowing those tissues to receive the oxygen and nutrients they need to heal properly.

Topical herbal remedies made with these Chinese herbs can help relieve pain while improving blood flow and circulation to injured tissues. The right product depends on your symptoms and whether you're in the acute or chronic stage of recovery.

If you have pain, swelling, inflammation, or bruising, Acute Sinew Liniment helps relieve these symptoms by increasing circulation and dispersing stagnant blood and fluids around the injured area to speed recovery. During the acute stage of healing, getting circulation moving early allows injured tissues to receive the fresh blood, oxygen, and nutrients they need to repair and heal.

If your injured area is especially swollen, red, or warm to the touch after a recent injury or flare-up, Sinew Herbal Ice is also used to reduce swelling and inflammation while restoring normal circulation so you can quickly regain range of motion. While traditional ice is commonly used to reduce swelling, Sinew Herbal Ice acts as an ice alternative to reduce swelling and inflammation while also dispersing accumulated blood and fluids to speed the healing process.

If you no longer have swelling or inflammation, but still have pain, stiffness, weakness, or sensitivity in cold and damp weather, Chronic Sinew Liniment helps relieve these symptoms by strongly stimulating circulation and increasing blood supply to injured tendons and ligaments to promote their healing. This is especially important because tendons and ligaments naturally receive less blood supply, which is why chronic injuries can take longer to heal.

If you have residual pain and stiffness, or the area becomes more painful in cold weather, Sinew Injury Poultice is also used to significantly stimulate circulation to injured tendons and ligaments to further promote their healing. By strongly increasing circulation, it counteracts the reduced blood flow caused by cold weather that commonly aggravates chronic tendon and ligament injuries.

If you exercise, play sports, or do other strenuous activities, Sinew Sports Massage Oil warms and stimulates muscles for exertion and relieves muscle tightness and soreness after activity. Warming and preparing your muscles before activity can improve flexibility, enhance performance, and reduce the risk of injury.

Frequently Asked Questions

You may also find these commonly asked questions helpful.

Why does my shin hurt when I run and walk?

Repeated running can overwork the muscles and tissues around your shin until even the lower demands of walking become painful.

Why did my shin pain start hurting when I walk?

Your shin may have become increasingly overworked, making normal walking enough to aggravate the area after running.

Should I keep running if my shin hurts when I walk?

Continuing to run while your shin hurts during walking can place additional stress on an already painful area.

Can shin pain from running get worse with activity?

Yes. Repeated running can increase stress on the muscles and tissues around your shin, making the pain more noticeable as activity continues.

When should I get help for shin pain that hurts when walking?

Persistent, severe, or worsening shin pain, especially pain that continues during ordinary walking, should be evaluated by a qualified healthcare professional.

The information provided here is intended to help you better understand your symptoms and recovery, but it is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Persistent, severe, or worsening symptoms should be evaluated by a qualified healthcare professional.