Amelia & Carrie: you're welcome!
Yes, they will go away. They usually come from doing too much, too soon. The key is to ease into running, stretch, and make sure you are in the right pair of shoes for your feet.
Here are some tips from Runner's World:
<<Treatment and prevention.
Experts agree that when shin splints strike you should stop running completely or decrease your training depending on the extent and duration of pain. Then, as a first step, ice your shin to reduce inflammation. Here are some other treatments you can try:
Gently stretch your Achilles if you have medial shin splints, and your calves if you have anterior shin splints. Also, try this stretch for your shins: Kneel on a carpeted floor, legs and feet together and toes pointed directly back. Then slowly sit back onto your calves and heels, pushing your ankles into the floor until you feel tension in the muscles of your shin. Hold for 10 to 12 seconds, relax and repeat.
In a sitting position, trace the alphabet on the floor with your toes. Do this with each leg. Or alternate walking on your heels for 30 seconds with 30 seconds of regular walking. Repeat four times. These exercises are good for both recovery and prevention. Try to do them three times a day.
If you continue running, wrap your leg before you go out. Use either tape or an Ace bandage, starting just above the ankle and continuing to just below the knee. Keep wrapping your leg until the pain goes away, which usually takes three to six weeks. "What you're doing is binding the tendons up against the shaft of the shin to prevent stress," Laps says.
Consider cross-training for a while to let your shin heal. Swim, run in the pool or ride a bike.
When you return to running, increase your mileage slowly, no more than 10 percent weekly.
Make sure you wear the correct running shoes for your foot type specifically, overpronators should wear motion-control shoes. Severe overpronators may need orthotics.
Have two pairs of shoes and alternate wearing them to vary the stresses on your legs.
Avoid hills and excessively hard surfaces until shin pain goes away completely, then re-introduce them gradually to prevent a recurrence.
If you frequently run on roads with an obvious camber, run out and back on the same side of the road. "If you don't do this, you'll always be putting stress on only one leg or one hip," says Laps. Likewise, when running on a track, switch directions.
If you are prone to developing shin splints, stretch your calves and Achilles regularly as a preventive measure.>>
