by Skye Martin

Created on: May 10, 2011   Last Updated: May 11, 2011

Most of the time when children experience shin pain, it is because they like to play and be very active, but they do not like to warm up beforehand.  This pain may take the form of burning and tingly over the entire shin and sometimes runs down as far as the ankle.  If your child runs down hills often or is involved in a sport that requires a lot of stopping and running, they are more likely to suffer from this kind of discomfort.

Typically overuse of your leg-muscles is what causes shin pains.  Specifically, it is most likely to be caused by the repeated use of muscles around a minor leg injury. The pain may be mild to unbearable and mostly occurs at night, after a long day of strenuous physical exertion.

You can teach your children warm-up techniques that will greatly alleviate the recurrence of shin pain.  You may also want to inspect your child’s shoes to make sure they are not worn out and fit properly.  Sometimes something as simple as poor fitting shoes may be responsible for causing shin pain.  Even when shoes are not worn out entirely, they should be replaced once a year.  When simply a high-quality athletic shoe is not enough, you may also want to consider shoe inserts for your child.  Some trainers recommend a special insert called an “orthotic” device.  The insert cushions the impact of the foot with the ground.

Advising that your child avoid running around and playing on hard surfaces may also help.  Unfortunately, the only way to alleviate shin pain caused by high physical activity is to cease that activity completely.  

For young children between the age of 3 and 6, they may be experiencing what is commonly referred to as growing pains.  This pain usually occurs at night and is further agitated by cold temperature.  It is important to have your child checked out by their doctor to conclude with certainty that they are indeed experiencing simple growing pains and not something more serious.  This will ease your mind and your child’s anxieties as well.

Shin pains are very common occurrences in children and usually do not threaten their general well-being.  The most important thing is to have these persistent pains checked out by a doctor and to be sure your child doesn’t further injure themselves by continuing to play while experiencing severe shin pains.  Doing so may cause them to trip and create a more debilitating injury.

Learn more about this author, Skye Martin.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.