Home Chat General Chat

Lower leg pain (inner side of shin)...

Hi All

I am hoping someone has had a similar pain and will be able to reassure me that its 'fixable' and not the end of the world...

Here's the description:

Pain on inside edge of shin bone (tibia), at the point where the muscle attaches, so if I run my thumb down the inside edge of my tibia a hit tender spots (when I say tender, I mean painful as hell just after a run, gradually easing over the few days after the run).

Its worse on one side than the other, but it is present both sides, I hope this suggests its not a stress fracture, because both legs would be very unlucky! It hurts when running, and gets worse during the run (I have read that most muscle injuries will tend to because less painful during a run as the muscle warms up???, so as myh pain gets worse, does this point back to a stress fracture??

Run length = No more than 15 minutes!!!
Have I overtrained= No!! 3 times a week, 25 minutes a time (25 mins consisted of 2 mins on, 1 min off).

I had the same pains last year, and had a good 3 months off over the winter, as soon as I got back to it, the pain came back straight away.

I have had new trainers, orthopaedic insoles (arch supports), i've seen two physios, I am seeing a doctor ASAP to get referred for a few scans on Bupa (hopefully).....

I cannot face not running, I need to know how to fix this....

An accurate diagnosis is all I ask, so that it can be treated properly.

Can you share your experiences with me?

Comments

  • md6md6 Posts: 969
    sounds a bit like shin splints... I had something which sounds very similar last year sometime, however, strengthening ankles, some physio to rbalance some muscle problems and a touch of acupuncture was all it took to sort it.

    What have your physio's etc said it is (or isn't)?
  • Physio #1 said it was likely related to weak glutes.....so did loads of glute strengthening....

    Physio #2 - when i visited i was complaining about a ITB issue also, he said its probably related to the knee and ITB issue and focused on that, that went away (after lots of foam roller hell) and the shin issues continue...

    I could go back to either one of these guys but to be honest i'm running out of good will when it comes to 'what it might be related too' type diagnosis......i'd like to know exactly!

    Anyway, today I've been to the doc's and been referred to a Private Orthopaedic Surgeon guy who specialises in lower leg and hip issues. I'm in tomorrow morning for an initial consultation and x-ray....

    Now i feel like a fraud!
  • md6md6 Posts: 969
    well at least you should get an answer from that - mine was related to the weak ankles and that had caused some shin splint to start to develop - luckily caught it eary. Fingers crossed its something easy to fix for you
  • TRIumphantTRIumphant Posts: 850
    garyroberts wrote:
    Now i feel like a fraud!
    That's what they are there for. Just get a definitive answer, and then you can address the cause etc
  • Well, i've been for an assessment and a few x-rays......good news is that there are no signs of fractures

    The specialist said that shin splints could not be diagnosed by x-ray and that a bone scan would be needed to confirm....

    That said, I asked him what the difference would be (in terms of treatment) between confirmed shin splints and confirmed no-shin splints? The treatment wouldn't be any different....

    Discontinue the activity causing the issue, recover, either stop doing it or start again but in a controlled way...

    I'm having the bone scan but not for about 4 weeks......at least I'll know for sure...

    Meantime I will continue my running......not much and in some pain
  • TRIumphantTRIumphant Posts: 850
    garyroberts wrote:
    I asked him what the difference would be (in terms of treatment) between confirmed shin splints and confirmed no-shin splints? The treatment wouldn't be any different....

    Discontinue the activity causing the issue, recover, either stop doing it or start again but in a controlled way...(
    If you have to stop doing what's causing it, which I assume is running, recover, and then start again in a controlled manner, then why go running. Surely, it was running on already injured legs that caused this injury to go on so long. Don't run, do something else, swim, bike etc, but no running.
  • md6md6 Posts: 969
    garyroberts wrote:
    The treatment wouldn't be any different....

    Discontinue the activity causing the issue, recover, either stop doing it or start again but in a controlled way...
    hmm, pragmatic. Stop doing it and it will stop hurting. I never find these sorts of advice helpful. Personally I want to know WHY it happened (overuse is not really a diagnosis IMO) and how to PREVENT it in future - just 'don't do it' really doesn't seem that helpful. As you don't know the cause then you may find it comes back (like it seems to have done already) when you start back running. I would want to know what is the underlying cause? And how can you fix that, therefore preventing a reoccurence
  • AvoneerAvoneer Posts: 174
    Hi,

    Definately sounds like shin splints.

    After years of them and ITB on and off, my advice would be to get some deep friction massage or tissue release on the area and try some different trainers.

    The muscles used to be so tight and painful on the inside of my shins, I couldn't run, but now I can get my finger tips right in there with no pain at all.

    I regularly get my finger tips in deep trying to get behind and under the shin bone and then circle my foot to release - but better to get a good physio to do this or at least show you how.

    Apart from this, the only things that solved mine was swithching to a different trainer which almost stopped them completely.

    Pat...
  • BW2017BW2017 Posts: 1

    Just wondering..for shin splits, is there any other advanced treatment that is available in the market right now?

  • MarkKYMarkKY Posts: 1
    Hi Gary,



    I know this post is now almost 8 years old, but were you able to finally identify the root cause of the pain and apply a corrective action. I have been suffering from, based on your description, the exact same issue. The pain is much different then shin splints I have had in the past. I stopped running for 3 weeks, focused on PT and even included dry needling to little relief. Because the pain was so different i thought maybe I had developed a stress fracture, as I was in the middle of marathon training and getting close to 30 miles a week.

    After the obligatory X-ray, and a boot if finally decided to get an MRI. Luckily after meeting with the Dr this week He determined that I do not have a stress fracture, but unfortunately could not offer any more guidance then maybe rest and more PT. I was almost hoping for a stress fracture to at least explain what If happening.



    If you can share any outcome or learning from your experience it would be greatly appreciated.



    Thanks
Sign In or Register to comment.