Hello Kea,
Welcome to the Pain Mangement Forum. I am glad that you found us.
The best suggestion I have for you is to see your PCP. Don't overuse an injured part or you could have more problems than a minor injury. It is not good to "play through pain." Pain is our bodies way of signalling to us that something is wrong. Think of it as your body way of talking to you.
Please let us know how you are doing. If you are comfortable doing so please share with us the results of your physicians appointment. we all learn from one another.
Good luck to you.
Tuck
Does it only hurt when you walk or run? Does it hurt when you don't have pressure on your leg? I had shin splints really bad in high school. I also played basketball and ran track. I had to have my legs taped before every game and sometimes when it was really bad I had to have them taped before practice also. Most the time the long distance running was what made it really hurt. It only hurt while I was running or walking. I got shin splints again as an adult when I quit running awhile due to injuries and started up again. Every step, just when walking, hurt so bad. I was told that this happens because the muscle is pulling away from the bone. I don't know how true that is because when I was in high school the internet was not in full bloom like it is now and we could not look up things as easily and have not thought about it since.
The only thing I can tell you is that taping helped, but did not take care of all the pain. I just ran through it. I can remember almost crying while at a track meet trying to finish the two miles I was competing in. I started off in first place, but my legs hurt so bad I finished in fifth. It does get better in time, but that would mean taking it easy, and if you have a coach anything like the one I had, that is not possible. It sounds like you might want to see a doctor about it and see what the can suggest.
Good luck.