text: does anyone know anything about shin splits? i was just told about them. that they are caused from running. how does running "split" your shins? and are there common home remedies that can help heal them faster or relieve the pain? k out of those that answered i can honestly say that i am the most qualified to give advice on this one lol no disrespect to you folks.  okay, a shin splint is where some of your muscles on one side of your leg become stronger than the adjacent mucsles on the other side whereby the mucsles are acually pulling away from the bone.  extremely painful in some instances, i've been a track runner for many years and at one point i would acually cry after practice.  this was in college mind you.    so what to do, first of all stretch.  probably the most important thing you can do, before engaging in any physical activity especially involving any amount of running is stretch. stretch your hamstrings, quads, and glutes.  stretch your gastrochnemious ie calves and your feet.  stretch everytime, perhaps two times a day for five mins at a time.  warm up a bit, get the blood flowing perhaps from a brisk walk or very light jog, and then stretch.  k, so now that i emphasized stretching lol, now use a heating pad or something warm to massage your sore shins before exercise.  don't ever ice before engaging in physcal activity, this will lead you to be more prone to injury!  always use the heating pad or ice for twenty mins, no longer and no shorter twenty mins. after icing, allow the numbness to dissapate before walking.  don't switch back and forth either.    warm before exercise  ice afterward.  hope this helps.  also you might want to get some foam pads to insert into your shoes, helped me get through track season one year.  also if you can, avoid running on concrete and asphalt (hard surfaces) look to running on a well finished track or nice green plush grass:) good luck!  hope i helped