Shin splints is a general term used to refer to a painful condition in the shins It is often caused by running or jumping or sprinting, and may be very slow to heal. A formal medical term for the condition is medial tibial stress syndrome. I would highly recomend taking advice from your medical practitioner.
Weight can aggrivate shin splints. Take things slowly, find the right pain killers for yourself, I used Neurofen (over the counter drug) for a while then I was put onto Celebrex (prescription drug) and told not to take Neurofen with Celebrex. This has worked for me, it doesn;t always work for everyone, but rest is the key.