Soothing shin splints

Mickey Mantle played center field with shin splints, which also sidelined Justin Anderson, who had surgery to repair them when he was playing basketball for the 76ers. But shin splints don’t just happen to pro athletes. They come from overexercising, having too hard a footfall, from having flat feet or high arches, wearing worn-out athletic shoes, being overweight or having an inflexible lower body. They are also a risk for the 35% of U.S. adults with a vitamin D deficiency, according to the Cleveland Clinic. In fact, they’re so common, they account for 3 million U.S. health care visits annually.

What are shin splints? They’re inflammation, pain and tenderness of muscles, tendons and fascia along, or behind, the tibia — the large bone that extends from your knee to your ankle.

Relief comes from staying off your sore leg, ice packs, doing recommended stretches and exercises, using topical pain relievers containing capsaicin, CBD or anti-inflammatories like diclofenac, and wearing running/walking shoes with a stiff heel and good arch support. As you find relief and are moving more, go slow. If you start with walking 2 miles total a day, add 10% more a week (or another 400 steps) until you return to your before-injury level. And start on a well-padded treadmill, not on pavement or an oval track.

For information on the beneficial effects of vitamin D from food and supplements, check out the info at Roizen Laboratory and Dr. Oz’s Youtube video, “Vital Vitamin D: Why It’s Essential for Your Health.”

Dr. Mike Roizen is the founder of longevityplaybook.com, and Dr. Mehmet Oz is global advisor to iherb.com, the world’s leading online health store. Roizen and Oz are chief wellness officer emeritus at Cleveland Clinic and professor emeritus at Columbia University, respectively. Together they have written 11 New York Times bestsellers (four No. 1’s).