text: ice or heat shin splints? i have chronic shin splints following my marathon, crosscountry, track experience. my team captain continualy says i should heat it, as heat relaxes the muscles and a shin splint is the muscle pulling away from the bone. other runers from other track events say i should ice, as that relieves the pain. i have had a stress fracture to add to the equation. what should i do, ice or heat? ice that's what my friend uses when she has problems and her doctor told her ice