Diagnosing Shin Splints
For your healthcare provider to diagnose shin splints they will first learn about your medical history then under OA physical exam. Your examiner will look at how you walk and examine your lower leg, foot and ankle.
A compete physical exam will include moving your ankle and foot around and feeling the tenderness along the bone. They may also instruct you to stand or hop on the painful leg so they can observe and decide if it is a shin soli task or has worsened to become a stress fracture.
To rule out stress fracture, your health provider will order an x-ray, although stress fractures are not seen in up to two-third of plain X-rays [1]. If your provider is still concerned, they may order a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI [2]) scan or bone scan. These tests are the perfect way to determine if the shin splint has become a stress fracture because the pick up the injury before an x-ray.