Regular updates are a key feature of PainScience.com tutorials. As new science and information becomes available, I upgrade them, and the most recent version is always automatically available to customers. Unlike regular books, and even e-books (which can be obsolete by the time they are published, and can go years between editions) this document is updated at least once every three months and often much more. I also log updates, making it easy for readers to see what’s changed. This tutorial has gotten 42 major and minor updates since I started logging carefully in late 2009 (plus countless minor tweaks and touch-ups).
2017 — New section: No notes. Just a new section. [Section: No pressure! Not compartment syndrome, but “biomechanical overload” syndrome.]
2017 — Like new: Rewrote discussion of shoes, surfaces, impact, etc. Several new references; recommendations haven’t changed much, but the explanation for them is greatly improved. [Section: Hitting the road: shoes, surfaces, impact, and the spring in your step.]
2016 — New section: Added a great, practical new tip for diagnosing and predicting medial tibial stress syndrome. [Section: Two really easy tests to both diagnose and predict medial tibial stress syndrome.]
2016 — Science update: Significant revision in light of (finally!) good new evidence about natural running and injury prevention. [Section: Should you run naked? On faddish running styles and running shoes (or the lack thereof).]
2016 — Minor science update: Citation of Collins 2008, a review of icing evidence (or the lack of it), plus related editing. [Section: Icing for MTSS and compartment syndrome.]
2016 — Update: Careful and thorough editing/update of NSAID recommendations, especially with regards to safety. [Section: You and “vitamin I”: anti-inflammatory meds, especially Voltaren® Gel.]
2015 — New section: Made a new section dedicated to other causes, after adding a science update about a fascinating example of a rare cause of stubborn shin pain. [Section: Other causes of shin pain.]
2014 — Correction: Reduced confidence in the results of a major study of special footwear (Knapik, the subject of the last update). Later removed the citation altogether. [Section: The great pronation fizzle.]
2014 — New item: Added a brief but very well-researched review of platelet-rich plasma injection. [Section: Brief debunkery of several other therapies that you should be skeptical of.]
2014 — Minor update: Added a fun sidebar about a bizarre source of shin pain. [Section: Diagnosis: How do you know which kind of shin splints you’ve got?]
2014 — New section: A new section mostly based on a particularly striking new treatment story from a reader. [Section: A couple trigger point stories.]
2013 — Science update: Added another bad-news citation, and type of evidence. [Section: The great pronation fizzle.]
2013 — Science update: I didn’t really ever expect a science update about tuning-fork diagnosis. But here it is! See the concluding footnote. [Section: From high-tech to low-tech: the tuning fork test!]
2013 — Minor update: Upgraded risk and safety information about Voltaren Gel. [Section: You and “vitamin I”: anti-inflammatory meds, especially Voltaren® Gel.]
2012 — Expanded: Added much more detailed self-help information for trigger points. [Section: Confirming the role of muscle knots in shin pain by treating them.]
2012 — Science update: Weak but interesting new evidence on natural running and injury prevention. [Section: Should you run naked? On faddish running styles and running shoes (or the lack thereof).]
2011 — Minor update: Addressed some common fears about the threat of getting out of shape while resting. [Section: The art of rest: the challenge and the opportunity for patients who have supposedly “tried everything”.]
2011 — Updated: Added new references to fascia science, regarding the alleged relevance of fascial contractility to compartment syndrome. This is also supported by a substantial new free article, Does Fascia Matter? [Section: Stripping: a popular massage techique for the shins.]
2011 — Minor update: Added reference to Kong et al, about the effect of shoe wear. [Section: Hitting the road: shoes, surfaces, impact, and the spring in your step.]
2011 — Update: Now cautiously endorsing Oesh shoes. [Section: Hitting the road: shoes, surfaces, impact, and the spring in your step.]
2011 — Minor update: Added a reference about the poor overall quality of online information about common injuries. See Starman. [Section: Introduction.]
2011 — Major update: Major improvements to the table of contents, and the display of information about updates like this one. Sections now have numbers for easier reference and bookmarking. The structure of the document has really been cleaned up in general, making it significantly easier for me to update the tutorial — which will translate into more good content for readers. Care for more detail? Really? Here’s the full announcement.
2011 — New section: Another substantial addition to the tutorial, the third in recent history. [Section: Hitting the road: shoes, surfaces, impact, and the spring in your step.]
2011 — New section: Another beefy new section for this tutorial, the second addition lately. [Section: Stripping: a popular massage techique for the shins.]
2011 — New section: Finally, long overdue, a new section on this topic (for all the running injury tutorials). [Section: Should you run naked? On faddish running styles and running shoes (or the lack thereof).]
2011 — Important new info: Where’s the fire? Recently I published a major new article about repetitive strain injuries, in which I explain that these injuries are rarely actually inflamed. Instead of being “on fire,” excessively stressed tissues tend to break down without inflammation — a kind of rot. For the full scoop on inflammation and repetitive strain injuries, see: Repetitive Strain Injuries Tutorial: Five surprising and important facts about repetitive strain injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome, tendinitis, or iliotibial band syndrome.
2010 — Minor upgrade: Upgrade to the description of popliteal artery entrapment syndrome (PAES), which is often confused with compartment syndromes. [Section: A more detailed looked at the four most common types of shin pain.]
2010 — Minor upgrade: Repaired an alarmingly large batch of typographic errors. Amazing what slips through!
2010 — New cover: At last! E-book finally has a “cover.”
2010 — Minor update: Added results of a study of surgery for stress fractures in elite dancers. [Section: Surgery for shin pain.]
2009 — New section: An important new section on anti-inflammatory medications, notably including discussion of Voltaren® Gel, a worthwhile treatment option for shin splints only recently got into my radar. You can read about Voltaren in a free article as well as here in the tutorial, but the tutorial covers the topic specifically as it relates to each of the different kinds of shin splints. [Section: You and “vitamin I”: anti-inflammatory meds, especially Voltaren® Gel.]
2009 — Major upgrade: Major miscellaneous improvements to the section today. [Section: Stretching is probably mostly ineffective for all kinds of shin splints.]
2009 — Minor update: Added nutraceuticals to the section. [Section: Brief debunkery of several other therapies that you should be skeptical of.]
2009 — New section: Starting off with just a few items. More will be added in time, but there’s four good ones to start. [Section: Brief debunkery of several other therapies that you should be skeptical of.]
2009 — New section: No notes. Just a new section. [Section: Diagnosis: How do you know which kind of shin splints you’ve got?]
2009 — Huge upgrade: About a dozen new sections, many more footnotes, and widespread editing for clarity and thoroughness. Today this tutorial is now officially “extremely detailed,” like the other advanced tutorials on PainScience.com, and went up for sale.
2009 — New section: New section to explain and highlight evidence from Gaeta about the high prevalence of microscopic bone damage found in long-distance runners. [Section: MRI and CT scanning may be helpful.]
2009 — New section: No notes. Just a new section. [Section: Bone tired: medial tibial stress syndrome is probably about bone fatigue, not inflamed soft tissue.]
2009 — New section: No notes. Just a new section. [Section: Strengthening is probably also a completely ineffective therapy.]
2008 — Major upgrade: Several major revisions and corrections.
2008 — Update: Added colorful anecdote from the Canadian wilderness to illustrate the seriousness of acute compartment syndrome. [Section: Danger! Please do not try to run through shin splints! Acute compartment syndrome can be extremely dangerous!]
2007 — Major update: Clarified diagnostic information significantly by integrating important information gleaned from Edwards et al [Section: A diagnostic algorithm (you know it’s good if it’s an “algorithm”).]