I’m sitting here with a bag of frozen lima beans on my leg. Not because I can’t bear to be parted from my beloved legumes for even a second (although my love does run deep, dear little green nuggets of goodness) – but because I have terrible shin splints. Well, only on my right shin.
But it really huuuurrrrts!
Last fall I got a small stress fracture in said shin while training for a marathon; a product of upping my mileage too quickly and having a general misguided sense of invincibility. (I almost wrote sense of “invisibility” – how cool would that have been?!) I was forced to take 6 weeks off of anything high-impact which was what started my Cardio Diet Experiment and made me fall madly in love with the 12/8 Bike Sprints. And ever since then I’ve tried to be careful with it.
But for reasons I cannot explain it’s back. I haven’t been running crazy-long again or changed anything major in my routine (well aside from the fact that I change everything all the time). It’s getting worse every day though. Now it’s to the point where it throbs even when I’m not exercising. Worse, it’s affecting my Hip Hop moves. I simply cannot have that.
Sigh.
Time to take action. I went and bought some new shoes. I was due – my last pair were pounded into cushion-less insensibility. Normally I’m an Aasics girl all the way. I have been for years. But I was reading in Health magazine – the one magazine whose cover models actually look healthy and also are not Oprah – that one should only wear running shoes for running. *cough*kickboxing-hiphop-latindancing- monkeybargym-rockclimbing-hiking*cough*
“Anything else is an injury waiting to happen.” An injury like, say, a shin splint?? According to Health (and common sense I suppose, although I’ve never professed to have an abundance of that), running shoes are great for the forward propulsion of running but really crappy at steadying your feet in other directions. Add that to my freaky right foot being in a shoe a half size too big and we have problems.
Aasics doesn’t make cross trainers. So, I went out on a limb and bought some New Balance cross trainers. I’m afraid – someone hold my hand, please.
Help Me!
You guys are the smartest bunch I know (and I’m not just saying that because you read my stuff. I’m saying that because I read all of your stuff.) What shoes do you guys use for what type of exercise? Have you ever had shin splints? What did you do? (PS> I already write the alphabet with my toes.) Thank you. As a man in Spain once told me, “I have much love you. I buy you whole empanada.”
I only know the alphabet toes as an easily explained shinsplintter exercise…
and am horrible about shoes as I go with the PURDY over the functional.
please to ignore my comment 🙂
here’s hoping they feel FAR better today!
M.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but shinsplints are actually tears, right? I’m pretty sure the only way to get them to go away is to take it easy for awhile, especially if they’re that bad.
I always get them when I move from the treadmill to the outdoors when the weather warms up, but they go away after about a week. Try this, though: roll a towel up into a tube, then grab it with your toes and slowly unroll it. Not sure how this does anything, but I’ve read that it will help with shinsplints (never tried it myself, though).
Shoes: I do Nike crosstrainers and Aasics for running. Running shoes don’t support as much lateral movement, which is why you shouldn’t use them for other things.
I wear my running shoes for cross training, too. Other than rest and ice, I don’t have any clever advice for the shinsplints, sorry.
Try some orthotics to put in the bottom of your sneaker- mainly ones that will raise your arch. I have low arched feet and I heard that was a culprit of shin splints.
Also try throwing some marbles (or other small object) on the floor and pick them up with your toes and move them into a bowl.
But I totally am all for buy sneakers – I have somewhat of a new shoe fetish – especially when they are sneakers. Maybe the new shoes smell is addicting….
Sorry Charlotte! The last time I remember having periostitis (shin splints) was when running track in college. Lousy shoes and a hard track was probably the cause. After track season was over, they got better. No magic here. Ice or heat, whichever feels better, anti-inflammatories, decent shoes, and correct form while running. It’s a time thing. Take a break and ease back into your program. It will pass.
Dr. J
Nothing helpful to add, as it seems most of what I’d suggest has been well covered–rest, ice, anti-inflammatories, and alphabets.
How frustrating! Hope they go away soon. I had them years ago from aerobics classes–cross-training with biking and uphill walking seemed to help, mainly ’cause it got me to stop pounding ’em for a while.
I buy Pumas because I am a slave to branding. Im only American.
With shin splints, sometimes little pockets of air get between your shin muscle and your bone. In gymnastics, we used to get other people to pop the bubbles. it hurts like a bitch, but if you find someone that knows what they are doing it fixes them immediately. Not sure on the long term ramifications of it, but it works for immediate relief. (gymnastics is not known for being the best on your body. sometimes immediate fixes take priority over long term health.)
http://www.everygymsnightmare.com
Do you know what type of people can do that? I’ve had shin splints for 5 yeaRs!
I am an Aasics girl, myself since they took me 60 miles in 3 days (and probably hundreds of miles while training for the walk)… but I recently tried on a pair of MBTs. I tried jogging around the store a bit and it was really cool! My knees couldn’t tell when I went from carpet to tile. I usually have trouble when I run on anything besides asphalt because those surfaces don’t give enough to cushion my joints.
I know I am looking at about $250 for a pair but I work in a hospital and all the nurses have them as well as a few docs… and since I “need” them for work, they will be a tax deduction.
But for you, since they are so expensive, you could probably get the correct size for each foot.
And if all the other reasons aren’t enough, Rachel Ray profiled them on one of her shows and had a lady try them for a period of time as an “experiment”… and you know what? She noticed a difference in how her jeans fit in just 2 weeks!
I know you were looking for something to cross-train in so I am sorry if I missed the point…
I get shinsplints anytime I do more than I should (I also think I’m super human some days). The exercises I was given and that worked for me were:
standing on the edge of a step on my toes (heels hanging over the edge) and going up and down as far as I could without falling of.
And have something heavy hang off your toes and lift it with your toes.
But wrong shoe support and overexhertion will still give you the splints no matter what exercises you do.
Kelly T – I was a gymnast for years! I’ve never heard of the air bubble thing though… hmmm.
KRS – Your mbt comment has me VERY intrigued. I just spent a half hour looking them up on e-bay:) Pricey little suckers but all the reviews were really good. Do you actually work out in yours?
I had the worst shin split problem when I first started running, but getting the right shoes eliminated that problem. For running shoes, I will pay the big bucks because it does make a huge difference and I’d rather avoid the doc bills later because of something I could have prevented by just getting the right shoe. I did have a pro watch me run so I could get the right type of shoe.
I was a die hard Nike girl for years but then they changed everything, and I had to leave. Now, I’m all about New Balance. I’m a Pronator. I’ve never had a bad shoe from NB. I love em!
I haven’t purchased them yet, so no, I do not currently work out in MBTs. Still waiting for the “stimulus” check from Uncle Sam…
I figure when I actually do make the purchase, I’ll keep wearing Aasics for everything but running and work.
I will probably get mine on E-bay but if you are trying to fit your feet with 2 different sizes, you will probably need to visit a retailer who carries them… the good news is that I think the company sets the prices so you won’t really have to price-shop.
Well, considering that I have a million pairs of snickers… But really, I could reduce it to two. One running pair and a pair of cross trainer. That covers it
You also have to gauge your foot, are you an overpronator? Do you need side to side stability? Some stores will takea look at your foot to tell you where you need special cushioning and what kind of shoe fits you best. Does that help?
Iodoral for the shin splints… worked amazingly well for me with plantar fascitiis. I tried the MBT for the plantar fascitiis… they are uglier than sin, felt nice but not $250 bucks nice (and they’re uglier than sin… did I mention that?)
I like trail runners. They are made for hard surfaces (like boulders and rocks in the trail) and changing directions (like when you rock off a rock and have to quickly change the direction of your other foot to keep from becoming one with Mother Nature). I have a pair of asics trail runners, TN754 model number. Used them to hike Mt Whitney…22 miles of rocks and rocking off rocks and my plantar fascia (and shins and eveything else) felt great.
Love the blog, thanks for sharing your attitude with us.
Best, cb57
Hmmmm…I don’t know about the shin-splints, but does anyone know what to do about black toenails? My second toe is longer than my first (my mom says that means I have a lot of understanding LOL), but if I could nip those ends off I would feel much better. I can’t figure out if my shoes are too long or too short. 🙁 Charlotte you should do a whole post about injuries, etc. so we could throw around ideas and home remedies! I’ll even send a picture of my U-G-L-Y toe! I have to spell that out because my toe might bite-back if it knows I’m talking about it!
i’m the ULTIMATE shin-splinter. i always upped my mileage too quickly and would get them as soon as i started running more than 16 miles a week. for me, it’s horrible to be off cardio for any amount of time for me, and i ended up just dropping off the fitness train. you can keep running through the pain and it’ll eventually disappear, but, um, it’s not fun.
so this time, i took a very long time building up my muscles on the elliptical and bike (BORING), i mean, literally 6-7 months, with only a run once every 2-3 weeks, and no more than 3 miles.
now i run about 2-3 times a week, 4-7 miles each time, and some hills. no shin pain, but anytime i get any twingey feelings at all, i lay off the running. (be careful about pounding downhill!)
i have super soles in my shoes and i also rub out my arches a lot- just grab a pole and roll it under your arches. also, lots of toe clenching exercises (along with the alphabet). and really, i know it’s expensive, but you should definitely fit your shoes to your actual feet size. (i can’t imagine the blisters you get).
i do NOT recommend mbts for shin splits. doesn’t provide the arch support… you still need orthotics. they didn’t perk up my butt, nor did i get more fit wearing them to exercise. and i dropped a lot of money on two pairs of freaking ugly shoes.