Best Running Shoes for Shin Splints
He runs a biomechanical assessment clinic, advises on footwear and custom orthotics.
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Today, we will discuss the best running shoes for shin splints (Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome). All information in this article is for educational purposes only and shouldn’t substitute medical advice. The three shoes that we’ve chosen to discuss are the Asics GT-2000, the Hoka Arahi 6, and the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 23.
James McCormack is a Physical Therapist specialising in knee, foot & ankle injuries. www.flawlessphysio.co.uk participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. The money earned from this helps us to create free educational content.
Heel-to-Toe Drop
So the first thing that we’re going to talk about is heel drop, that’s really important because we know that if you have excess pressure to your calf muscles, they places torsion on the shin bone and that can contribute to shin pain. So you can address this in two different ways. One is the heel drop, which is the difference from the back to the front of the shoe in height, and the GTS provides the most significant heel drop over the 3 shoes, so it has a 12mm difference from the back to the front of the shoe. In the Asics Gt-2000, you have an 8mm heel drop and a 5mm heel drop in the Hoka Arahi 6.
Midsole Rockers
The second way that you can offload the calf muscle is by having a forefoot rocker, and that’s what these other two shoes do so that’s a curve upward from the midsole to the forefoot that helps pulse forward takes the pressure off the ankle joint and therefore the Achilles and the calf muscle. This can ease your shin pain as it shifts the force upwards towards the back of your thigh so your hamstrings and your gluteal muscles so it’s a really effective way of reducing the load placed on your shins.
Shoe Stability
The third thing we think about regarding shin splints is the amount of stability a shoe has. All 3 shoes are stability versions within their own brand, but they provide stability in different ways. So, for instance, the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 23 provides stability by having guide rails on the undersole of the shoe; now you can think of that as if you’re bowling and you lift up the rails, it reduces the amount that your foot can move from side to side as you move through the gait cycle providing stability on both sides of the shoe. In contrast to that, the Hoka Arahi 6 has its J-frame, so as you can see, you’ve got a white.
Then, there is a grey colour in the midsole, and the grey colour goes around the front and the inside all the way back to the inner aspect of the heel, so that’s a denser foam on the inside of the foot. That means as the foot moves inward, so the pronation moment, the denser foam doesn’t compress as easily. It provides some resistance to those pronation forces, reducing the amount that the foot can move inwards and reducing the force towards the inside of the shin bone.
Finally, the Asics GT-2000 provides stability through the 3D guidance system. Historically, they had a gel underneath the heel, which they replaced by putting all the way throughout the midsole between the foam. It has the FF blast cushioning and a wide base of support to provide extra stability to your foot as you move through the gait and running cycle.
The lightest of these three shoes is the Hoka at 9.3oz, the Asics at 9.5oz and slightly heavier at 10.1oz in the Brooks Adrenaline GTS. So when we’re thinking about offloading our shins, we really want to offload our calf muscles; they’re the main culprits here.
So, if you’re looking for a really stable shoe that protects motion from side to side and has a nice high heel drop to offload the back of your heel, then the GTS might be a good option for you. If you’re looking for a super lightweight stability shoe, then you might enjoy the Hoka Arahi 6. If you’re looking for an all-rounder that’s super comfortable, then the Asics GT-2000 could be helpful.
Our YouTube video on the Best Running Shoes for Shin Splints
Product Reviews with Flawless Physio
James McCormack, a lower limb specialist who is an expert in treating foot conditions, wrote this article.
This is not medical advice. We recommend a consultation with a medical professional such as James McCormack if you are experiencing any of the symptoms discussed in this article. James offers weekly online physiotherapy appointments and face-to-face appointments at his London clinic.
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We are specialists in treating foot conditions such as Shin Splints, and you can see one of our Foot and Ankle Specialists in our clinic in Soho.
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