kinda doesn’t look so sexy now… Image from Oprah.com
Peeing while camping. Opening jars. Changing in public. The freedom to have pit hair long enough to braid and not even care. There are some occasions when it would be pretty awesome to be a dude. And now I can add running to that list. While we’ve known for a long time that guys are typically faster, have more endurance thanks to 30% more lung capacity and, of course, have 100% fewer lines at race biffies, new research published in the current issue of the British Journal of Sports Medicine shows that women are 3 times as likely as men to get shin splints. And if that’s not bad enough, when we do get shin splints our girly ones are 1.5-3.5 times more likely to progress to stress fractures.
I had two immediate reactions to this research:
1. Yay – now I have a new party trick! Hey guys, watch me limp up stairs… all sexy like!
2. It’s about time science explains Chuck Norris.
Why are we ladies so special? The researchers speculate that this may be due to increased prevalence of osteoporosis in women, the effects of the pregnancy and menstrual hormones in relaxing the ligaments in the feet and legs, our larger Q-angle (the angle from your hip to your knee that has been linked to increased knee injuries in women) and… the prolonged wearing of high heels. Yeah, your Friday date-night stilettos might be contributing to your Saturday morning running pain.
As a girl who is sort of prone to shin splints (when I’m running a lot, which I’m not currently) and gave myself stress fractures in my right shin a few years ago, I found this news particularly interesting. (Especially because right now my husband has bad shin splints and I don’t and I’m just snarky enough to brag about it on the Internet.) See, stress fractures hold a special place in my heart. Fun GFE fact: They are actually how this blog came to be born!
Five years ago I was in the midst of my over-exercising eating disorder and running, kickboxing, weight lifting, stepping, Bosu-ing and jump roping way too much. But mostly running. At the beginning of my runs I’d feel some heat and then sharp pain in my shins but after a mile or two (and a compulsive thought or two…hundred) the pain disappeared and I’d feel fine. Until I’d finished my run and cooled down and then all of a sudden the pain would be back and be much worse. Eventually I was limping almost all the time. But instead of resting it I kept pushing through the pain and stress fractured my shin. My doctor ordered me off all weight-bearing exercises for six weeks – not even walking on the treadmill! This left me with swimming and biking. And we all know how I feel about being wet and cold. So biking it was! (In retrospect I think she may have actually told me not to bike either. I wasn’t good at listening then.) But I kinda hate biking too. It makes my lady bits hurt. (Yes, even with padded bike shorts.) So in an effort to find a way to get the biggest bang for my cycling buck so I could get off of there faster, I discovered a form of Tabata sprints on the bike – except it used a 12/8 second interval. That became my first official Great Fitness Experiment! Eventually I got tired of explaining to people why I looked like Kermit the Frog on speed so I started the blog to consolidate my research (er, “research”) into one place.
This is so totally how I ride bikes.
Causes of Shin Splints
While being female and exercising too much definitely contribute to shin splints and stress fractures, other risk factors include:
– Having flat feet and/or overpronating – both conditions that affect proportionally more women than men.
– Upping your mileage too quickly. (Experts recommend upping your distance by no more than 10% at a time.)
– Shoes. Camp A: Wearing shoes that are too old, runners should be replaced every 3-6 months. OR Camp B: Wearing shoes at all. Modern shoes have screwed up our natural stride and small muscle control so you should wear barefoot trainers or just your bare feet.
– Poor nutrition. A weak diet equals weak bones.
– Running on cement or pavement. Supposedly those surfaces don’t have much give so experts advice running on a track, grass or trail when possible. (Just don’t trip on a tree root!)
How to Tell if You Have Shin Splints
The other interesting aspect of this study was the researchers discovered a two-part test for assessing whether or not someone has shin splints or is in danger of developing them. This is great because now you can catch them earlier before they have a chance to fracture. (My spell-checker just autocorrected “fracture” to “fractal” – which how awesome would it be if my shins could fractal?!)
The first test involves having someone else put their hand on your shin, wrapping their fingers around the inside edge of your shin bone and “squeezing hard enough to wring out a sponge.” If it hurts you have a positive result.
The second test has that same someone poke their finger into your lower shin to check for edema (swelling). If the indentation from their finger remains for a bit then it’s a positive result.
Get a positive on both tests and you’re 8 times more likely to develop shin fractures! Whether you use this as a diagnostic tool or a fun new way to pick up that hottie at the gym is totally up to you.
What to Do If You Have Shin Splints
The advice for healing shin splints is pretty much the same as the advice for avoiding them (see above) plus a lot (A LOT) of rest. Ice and ibuprofen also pop up a lot. This is probably a good time to point out that I’m not a doctor so if you’re worried about pain when you’re running and you’re not a Muppet, you should totally go talk to yours!
Your Advice?
Have you ever had shin splints? How did you get them and how did you get over them? What makes you sometimes wish you could be a member of the opposite sex??
Thanks for all this info. This is something I have been meaning to read up on for a while since I started running.
Not feeling as much pressure generally from society is one of the perks of being a guy I think. Although, over the past few years that has changed and I think guys are feeling more pressure too.
I had shin splints and I am still dealing with them today. I used to be in AFROTC and I picked up an incorrect form of running (I also have super bad arches) I remember getting them at first and getting better shoes and them going away.
But soon after a year or so they came back and completely took me down. Doctors ordered me to physical therapy before I fractured my legs (something I didn’t get until after I had to leave the program since my run time fell after I took a 1 month running break)
The physical therapy has helped a lot. Stretches, ice massages, and ultrasound therapy were all a part of it. To this day I am supposed to ease back into running. And I sometimes still feel the after affects of it.
Thanks for this information I never knew about this stuff before. It makes a lot of sense. (Also I will just say the people who gave me the most flak about the shin splints and me not being able to take them well? Were Men.)
I had crazy shin splints in high school when I ran cross country. I attribute a lot of it to very poor nutrition (i.e. not eating) but I also think that training for speed contributed to my shin splints. Now that I run for distance instead of speed, I have no problems. I also eat properly though, which I’m sure helps. Running is SO much easier than it was in high school- haha!
So is it possible to wring your own sponge?
Yeesh, that sounded dirty. What I mean is, is there a special angle that require an innocent bystander to be the squeezer? I’m ok by self test, and having not shaved my legs in recent history, would like to keep the testing DIY until I get around to it.
Ewww, that picture is horrifying. So glad I almost never wear heals and the couple times a year I do, they’re not more than an inch. Take that Cosmo and your “heels make your legs look sexy.” I’ve never had shin splints, thank god, and I want to keep it that way.
Oh man, I used to get shin splints ALL. THE. TIME. I hate running, though, so it’s pretty easy for me to avoid getting them. But I’ll start to get them even if I just go for ONE little run.. we’re talking 2 miles of mostly running with 10-15 mins of jogging/running.
I have so many runner friends and they’re always like, “Come do this 5K with me!” and I’m like, “uh, yeah, I can’t because then I will have shin splints and not be able to walk for a month, let alone keep up with my regular exercise routine.” They all like to tell me I just don’t have the right shoes and I need to go to a special running store to get fitted for, y’know, like $200 running shoes… for someone who hates running to begin with shin splints or not, that sounds like a giant waste of money. Oh, runners. *sigh*
er… 2 miles of mostly WALKING with a little bit of running/jogging… oops 🙂
I’ve only had shin splints once, and that was fixed by buying running-specific shoes.
Also, I never thought I’d say this, but I’m coming around to the barefoot/minimalist camp. After developing a LOT of pain in the arch area of my foot after buying a new pair of running shoes (same model as the old ones that were comfy), and rolling my ankle severely twice, I decided to try doing my cross training without shoes to see if I could strengthen my foot and ankle muscles.
The result? I think it’s working. Since I’ve started doing all workouts (except running) without shoes, I’ve had almost NO foot pain. Last night, I walked on the treadmill without shoes and it felt pretty good. So, I’m pretty convinced there is something to this. The next time my budget allows, I’m giving minimalist shoes a try.
I’ve had them once. Ow. But then I got proper shoes (my feet pronate a lot) and haven’t since then. Having good shoes and easing into things is the key I think.
I haven’t been running much since my knee decided it wasn’t good for me, so I don’t have to deal with it anymore. Usually my knee will put up a stink far before my shins do, altho I can still sneak in a slow 5K run every once in a while.
This is just another reason why running blows and why I will probably never take it up again as a major component of my fitness time.
Weird story: I haven’t suffered shin splints for a while (since I stopped running all the time). This past weekend, I unearthed my Reebok EasyTone shoes from my closet, and I was all “I forgot about these!! I’ll totally wear them all weekend.” I walked my dog for hours, wore them on errands, etc. The next day, I had a RAGING case of shin pain which I know to be the precursor to shin splints. Damn those hideous shoes! Now I get to try to sell them on ebay like a normal person would.
Throw them away. They don’t do what they claim and they promote bad biomechanics. Why pass on a dangerous, painful product to someone else? Or get a refund.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/cases/reebok/index.shtm
Because I paid $90 for them a couple years ago (refund not possible), people still want them, I’m not the shoe police for other people, and I can get some of that cost back. It’s wasteful to throw something away that other people could use. Also, I’m a starving law student and I need every penny I can get.
So…you fell for a scam so other people should have to make up for your gullibility? You’ll earn enough money as a lawyer to swallow 90 bucks now. I don’t see how you can justify knowingly causing injury to someone else.
As hilarious as your position is, I think your beef might be with Reebok, not me. It’s a f*%$ing pair of sneakers, not a sawed-off shotgun. You would make a great prosecutor, though.
Charlotte, I recently thought I had shin splints. I had a conversation with my doc and learned that I have a tight fibular head. Great. Tight fibular head is often misdiagnosed as IT Band Syndrome. There were exactly two things to do about it: manipulation by my doc and ibuprofen.
If anyone has info about tight fibular heads, I’d love to hear it!
I stopped running.
Shin splints gone.
But I HATE running, so it wasn’t exactly a sacrifice, more like the perfect excuse.
When do I wish I were a guy? Well, continuing yesterday’s theme, about 2 weeks out of every month. In fact, I wrote a song, to the tune of “I Enjoy Being A Girl”
When I have my PMS on
And I’m pi**ed off at all the world
When I’m bloated and can’t get my pants on
I abhor being a girl
Through the tears and the screams and the yelling
When my husband sleeps on the couch
And my brain forgets basic spelling
I’m a b*tch and a grump and a grouch
I’m simply a typical female
One you’ll find in ev’ry corner of the world
Who will make you feel glad you are a free male
I abhor being a girl.
Thank you, I’ll be here all week. Be sure to tip your server.
One other cause: muscle imbalance. Calves being WAY stronger than tibialis anterior.
I’ve picked up some tricks/exercises during my time in fitness to work on shin splints, which as always has me thinking and making notes to do a blog post on this! You continue to be a source of inspiration Charlotte!
I read that research too….the fronts of my shins seem to be sensitive to touch ALWAYS, but they don’t hurt to run. I don’t really have the risk factors, but I think in my case when my calves get tight (like Di said) it makes it worse. Sometimes it’s the connective tissue pulling on the bone (my non-medical description) more so than concussive forces.
My husband’s shin splints cleared up as soon as he started drinking something with electrolytes on his run (plus I’m sure strengthening the muscles helped). Also, since I started training more, I have WAY less tolerance for cute shoes. I’ve never worn tennis shoes/flat sandals so much in my life!
I get shin splints every winter when I take up skating. I usually get about three bouts of it each winter. It drives me crazy but I confess I don’t do anything to prepare for it. I can’t see me taking up roller blading during the rest of the year. I am just too clumsy for that. I guess I could make an effort to use that wave machine they have at the gym. It is a similar motion.
I am pretty sure the problem is caused by my fallen arches and generally tight leg muscles.
Hi Charlotte!!
When I went back to your original post on Tabata sprints, it said you were doing an 8/12 pattern but had misread the article you’d seen about Tabatas. You linked to that article but the page had been taken down. What pattern were you supposed to be doing? I’m really interested…
Signed,
Jane, your fan 😉
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