Black eye when I smacked myself in the face with my big daddy hoop. Ouch, it smarted like hell. Other then the normal scrapes and bruises thats about it.

i'm withya caroleena (btw it's good to be back). i've had my share of tendonitis with both wrists, multiple bruisings- mostly on my hands and hip bones-, and my first nose injury just the other nite (note to self : do not consume alcoholic beverages while hooping). i had a first time hooper give her self a black eye during a lesson last week. ouch!

:) One of the things the doctor said was, "As people get better and better at things like hoop dancing, which you are probably pretty good since you've been doing it for so long, I see that they tend to get more dramatic and expressive in their movements. It puts a lot of strain on the body, so I'm not too surprised. Don't be so exuberant next time!"

Part of me wanted to say, "Fat chance!" because it's easy to get carried away. But I'm taking it easy for now, and since I'm going on a monthlong trip soon, I won't be able to hurt myself hooping.

I have 2 bruised toes right now! LOL! That brought tears to my eyes, for sure! Ouchies!

Aside from general all over-the-place bruises, the worst injury I've had so far was a giant splinter in my toe. I hoop out on my back deck...barefoot, of course!...and I while I was dancing around I got a splinter that was more like a hunk of wood! It went horizontally through my second toe and it had to be an eighth of an inch thick...it looked like a belly button bar! I sat down real quick and just stared at it for a minute wondering how the heck I was going to pull it out! It wasn't easy, lemme tell ya! It still makes me whince thinking about it!

so i posted my reply earlier, then went to the park on saturday and busted my lip while learning a duck out. think i jinxed myself.

I can help you stop getting shin splints. I used to get them all the time too. All you have to do is some toe raises. You might want to use a chair or a wall for balance but raise up on the toes so that your weight is completely balanced between the ball of our foot and your toes. Do this first on your right foot and then on your left foot. Do this ten times each, ideally when you first wake up and/or right before you hoop or go for a long walk on concrete. (Hooping on concrete is the absolute worst!) It helps stretch out the muscles across the front of the shin, which rarely get stretched, and also stimulated blood flow to the area. It's a simple way to eliminate those achy shins. Start out with just a few and work up to more. Doing them a few throughout the day is a lot better than doing a bunch at once. If you work at a desk, leave yourself a note and do 4-5 everytime you get up to go to the bathroom. Getting into a routine is key. And the ones first thing in the morning are the most important.

If you already have a shin splint, Arnica lotion is a great way to treat it. The best I've found. Nothing else seems to really work, even Ibuprofen. I do recommend ibuprofen though. It does help. I just think Arnica is better. Massage also helps.

Ah ha ha ha... beat up by fairies.. I had to giggle over that.
So true about glitter and bruises.

What a great quote!