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Just to emphasize a couple of points as a current competitive runner:
Shin splints will not kill you, they might not get better and hurt a lot, but as long as it is just shin splints, they will not likely cause permanent damage. Other more serious conditions can be diagnosed as shin splints, however, so one needs to be careful.
Changing your gait can cause permanent damage, either consciously or unconsciously due to pain causing you to run wierd.
The pain should go away after a short amount of time of running if it truly is shin splints.
Wear good shoes at a store where they have you run to see your gait. If you really land on the balls of your foot, a "toe dancer" as one store employee put it to me, then buying any of the motion control or stability shoes will not only not help, but hurt you a lot. Forefoot strikers do not by default have shin splints, Landing on your heel might in fact be worse, since in my case my natural tendency is to land on my heel, which puts a huge shock up my bones to my knees, and then slap my forefoot down, which stresses the foot.
Run on soft materials: gravel, dirt, grass, or even a rubber track if you have to. Stay away from concrete and even asphalt if possible.
Ice with a dixie cup, 10 to 15 minutes max, rubbing the ice up and down your shins.
Do some of the aforementioned stretches.
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