Runner's Tip: Shin Splints

This is a new section of my posts that will be about little tips and tricks for runner's and exercise in general, called Runner's Tip. This is my first one so be nice to me okay?

For many runner's, there is one injury among many that just about every one can get while running. This injury is painful and can be very hard to treat, it is shin splints. Shin splints cause a lot of pain in the muscle around the shins and they can happen at anytime, to anyone if you are not being careful. I would know because a few weeks into me training for my first half marathon, I seem to have started to develop them in my right leg.

I fear shin splints the most just because I am still getting into the hang of running and I am afraid that if I have shin splints, I won't be able to train for the half marathon and trust me-- I don't want to disappoint. So I asked around and I received a couple words of advice on how to help with shin splints.

First off, you need really good running shoes. One of the main causes of shin splints is because someone is wearing run down shoes that need to retire. Please, for your own good and safety, if your shoes are super old, they need to go!

Another thing, make sure you are wearing the right kind of shoes. Many people don't realize this, but many people in the world have misaligned joints in their legs and need shoes that would help correct that while you run. Check with the assistant at a sporting goods store about the different kinds of shoes to help get you the right pair. This also helps prevent shin splints.

The next thing that can help is stretching your muscles. Take this tip from dancers, to help protect their muscles and keep them nimbly on their toes, they use certain stretches. The stretch that can help is simple. Sit on the floor with your legs out stretched in front of you. One at a time, raise your right leg and flex your foot as far back as possible. Then point your foot all the way down as you can. To know how long you do this on each leg, try spelling out the alphabet all the way through on each leg.

Lastly, if you have already formed or they are forming, get the little bathroom Dixie cups and fill them with water. Then stick them in the freezer until they are completely frozen solid. Then peel the cup away about half way down and ice your shins that way. It really helps and it's much easier than trying to hold a whole brick of ice to your leg.

Hope these were helpful to you and I would like to say: Happy Running!