Shin Splints

Healthcare providers diagnose shin splints by learning your medical history and doing a physical exam. Your provider will look at how you walk and examine your lower leg, ankle and foot. A complete exam will involve moving your ankle and foot around and feeling for tenderness along the bone. Standing on the painful leg or hopping on that leg may help to diagnose shin splints or a stress fracture.

To rule out a stress fracture, your provider will first order an X-ray, although stress fractures aren’t seen in about two-thirds of plain X-rays. Therefore, if your provider is concerned, they may then order a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan or bone scan. These tests allow your provider to see if the shin splint has become a stress fracture because they pick up the injury before an X-ray.