Another shin splint post... (Read 1296 times)

I live in Canada, so my appointment is tomorrow.

Well, I saw the doctor today, and I got what I suppose could be termed 'good news'. He said that it is extremely unlikely that what I have are stress fractures, but he put me through for x-rays (but not the Almighty Bone Scan) anyway. He also said that I could keep running in the meantime, and that as long as I don't get too ambitious too soon, my issues are not likely to lead to any long-term problems. The only bad news he mentioned is that although I should continue RICE + ibuprofen to manage the symptoms, I may end up just having to deal with chronic soreness. But he was fairly confident that the soreness will not lead to anything serious. So in the end what I got is the same thing I've been telling myself in my more "wishful thinking" moments, but it is a nice change to have a doctor doing my wishful thinking for me. So I suppose I'll just keep doing what I'm doing until the shinsplints subside or until my tibia snaps...

I must admit it was just blind luck due to a canceled appointment...

I've had a knot on that shin for awhile now, and some people say it's from shin splints, and others say it's a sign of a stress fracture. It did go down in size for awhile when I was taking it a little easier.

Yes apparently a bump on the tibia can be the result of a stress fracture when the bone structure repairs itself denser and thicker. But I can't imagine it would go down in size...

Here is some information from the Sports Injury Bulletin site: The pain produced by a stress fracture is ordinarily quite different from that caused by a compartment syndrome, for example (compartment syndrome is a condition in which pressure builds up in one of the compartmentalised sections of a leg during activity; the spike in pressure can produce pain, numbness, and weakness in the affected area). Sometimes called ‘crescendo pain’, stress fracture pain tends to build up gradually during the act of running, beginning as an annoying irritation and becoming a throbbing torment as an athlete continues to run(1). There is usually little of the numbness, weakness, and swelling associated with compartment syndrome, and pain is usually not present to a significant degree when the athlete is at rest. Sometimes, there is a specific point of tenderness in the lower leg, which is often felt on the inside of the calf when deep pressure is applied with the fingers. Often, the bone will hurt when it is tapped near the damaged area, and occasionally a hard nodule will appear on the surface of the bone at the trouble site. If the problem is not a stress fracture but rather inflammation of the tendons of the shin muscles (tendinitis), the pain is often quite diffuse, running up and down the lower part of the leg along the tibia. It is true that tendinitis can mimic a stress fracture by producing crescendo pain, but tendinitis discomfort is often less localised than stress-fracture pain and usually can’t be produced simply by tapping on the bone. With shin tendinitis, there is usually none of the numbness associated with compartment syndromes. Naturally, if your shin-area pain is a continuing problem, you should seek the advice of a sports-medicine doctor.

Yeesh, I've been told that that is one of the major indications... definitely see a doctor! 6 to 8 weeks off beats 3 months to a year off for a full fracture!