I Have Shin Splints From Playing Pickleball and Want to Keep Playing

If your shins ache, feel tender, or tighten while playing pickleball, repeated court movement can keep stressing your shins before they have time to recover.

When your shin splints come from playing pickleball, you may notice an ache along the front or inner part of your lower leg as you move around the court. Your shins might feel fine when you first start playing, then become sore as you chase shots, move sideways, or repeatedly push off to change direction.

You may also notice tenderness when you press along your shins after playing. If you continue playing before the area has had enough time to settle down, each session can bring the same aching or tight feeling back, especially when you are playing several times a week.

Your Shins Hurt During Quick Court Movements

Quick starts and side-to-side movements can make your shins ache or tighten while you play.

You may feel the pain most when you suddenly move for a short ball, push off to the side, or stop and change direction. Repeating these movements throughout a pickleball game keeps asking your lower legs to work hard, which can make existing shin splints more noticeable.

Your Shins Stay Sore After Pickleball

Your shins may still feel tender or sore after the game is over.

You might notice an ache when walking away from the court, going down stairs, or getting up after resting. When that soreness is still present before your next game, returning to pickleball too soon can bring the same pain back more quickly.

Why Your Shins Keep Hurting During Pickleball

Your shins have 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 shins feeling stiff, tight, weak, or painful during everyday movement and activity.

What Can Help Your Shins Feel Better

Your shins start 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.

Can I keep playing pickleball with shin splints?

Continuing to play while your shins are painful can keep aggravating the problem, so reducing or pausing painful activity gives the area time to recover.

Why do my shins hurt when I play pickleball?

Repeated starts, stops, side-to-side movements, and push-offs can repeatedly stress your lower legs and make shin splint pain more noticeable.

Why are my shins sore after playing pickleball?

Your shins can remain sore after pickleball when repeated court movement has stressed the area more than it has been able to recover between games.

Can pickleball cause shin splints?

Yes. Frequent court movement, especially repeated running, stopping, and changing direction, can contribute to shin splints.

When should I return to pickleball after shin splints?

Return gradually when normal walking and everyday movement are comfortable and playing no longer causes significant shin pain.

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.