When it comes to choosing what to wear on your feet when running, the message is a simple one. The footwear has to be right, or not at all.

If you're caught somewhere in the middle with a pair of tennis-style shoes or trendy plimsoles the chances are that you will have problems very soon.

Let's presume you've followed the advice and made a trip to your local running store and bought the right running shoes for your feet. Or you've decided to be brave and tentatively opt for the barefoot running option in the hope of reducing your injury risk in the long run.

Well the good news is you've lowered your chances of being injured. But you've really just given yourself a better chance than someone who hasn't been quite as diligent.

The bad news is that with or without the best fitting runners, there are still a whole host of injuries looking to seize on any little imperfection or imbalance with your body that can be found.

At this time of year my physio clinic is packed with one very painful injury called shin splints. It happens to the casual runner making the most of the nice weather jogging that bit further, the Sunday morning footballer pounding the roads trying to keep fit and even the fast bowlers playing cricket. The pitches are starting to firm up putting much more stress on the legs.

Of all of the areas in the North-East that I practice my physio, it's the Guisborough and Durham clinics that seem to see the most running injuries, including shin splints. If you ever suffer from this it's a horrible pain on the inside of the shin bone that gets slowly but steadily worse the longer and more you run. Some of my patients tell me that if they tap the shin bone even lightly, it feels as though it could crack. That's when you know it's time to stop and seek advice.

The problem with shin splints is that the injury is fairly invisible. The muscle in the area doesn't look damaged, it doesn't change colour and the bone appears to be normal. It just hurts when you run.

Often with this injury my patients come to me with a familiar story. The pain comes on, they stop and rest. The pain goes, they start to run again and so the cycle continues for weeks or months until the pain is there almost immediately at the start of a run.

You'll be very lucky to cure shin splints completely. That's not to say that the pain won't go, it just might come back occasionally. You need to learn to 'manage' the injury. Your choice of footwear is vital, if you have feet that appear flat then you need to consider an insert to correct the position. If your foot is flat, it pulls the muscles away from the shin bone causing this pain that your feeling.

Use ice regularly after your run, anti-inflammatory cream is helpful and to be applied before the run and treatment from a physio would include core strength exercise, improving the control of gluteal (bum) muscles and lots of deep tissue massage to relax the calf muscles.

A good strength exercise programme for your feet is also advised.

But the message with shin splints is to respect the fact that the pain will not go away by continuing to run. You have to rest and opt for things like swimming or bike riding to keep you fit and away from pounding the legs. You might need an extended break and a trip to a physio to begin with, then just the odd few days rest in between runs if the problems surface again, which with shin splints they often do.

Any further advice you need, please get in touch with me.