Hello all,
After looking and finding quite varied information online, I thought I would ask on here whether any members have struggled long term with anterior shin pain, especially after stress fractures.
Background: I am a 31y/o Male, 178cm and 65kg. I started as a runner in my early twenties after very little sport growing up. I had a few good years of just running improved (16:00 5k, 33:45 10k, 74:01 HM), but after a few injuries it was highlighted that I have a 10mm leg length discrepancy and quite flat feet/high ankle mobility. I have typically opted for more supportive running shoes with a 4mm lift under the in sole on the shorter leg
In Spring 2016 I started to notice a dull pain on the outside of my shin bone (shorter leg) whilst running and afterwards. This would only be pinpointed by pressing firmly on the bone, and was not a sharp pain, just tender. It has never been severe and never stopped me running (In fact running quickly is almost painless), but noticeable when walking down stairs. It seemed to get more persistent, and an X-ray highlighted what was believed to be a minor stress fracture. At this point I stopped running for a few months upon recommendation, and mainly focused on steady cycling.
My first attempt to run again was met with a slightly dull pain, so I chose to rest for another few months. After this point I started to run again and seemed to be okay, with only occasional anterior muscle tightness every now and then. A repeat X-Ray in Spring 2017 showed no inflammation on the bone. Since then I have turned down run volume (40k per week max) and moved into Duathlons.
Through the 2018 season I noticed some tightness in the shin area again, both muscular and locally on the bone building up after runs, and on the build up to my final A race (ETU Standard Duathlon AG champs) I was becoming more aware of it. An X-ray after that was a little inconclusive, with some inflammation close to the bone and a general doctors opinion of 'maybe it is stress fractured again'. Given it was my off season, opted to rest for 8 weeks, still maintaining some steady cycling as cross training. After a few weeks rest I started to focus on strengthening calves, along with a general S&C programme for whole body.
I am now 3 weeks into a gentle taper into running again with short walk/run sessions on the treadmill. Over the winter my calf strength and general foot stability has improved greatly, but I have noticed a little muscular tightness on the anterior muscle, though no pain along the bone. I am certainly approaching any pain with elevated levels of caution at this point!
Summary: My goal of this post is to get any experiences that others have had of shin stress fracture rehab, repeat issues and ongoing pain. I am also interested in the general symptoms of shin stress fractures, as those that led to my initial diagnosis were always very mild, making me wonder whether it was correct, or if this symptoms suggest a different issue? Many thanks and apologies for the essay!
After looking and finding quite varied information online, I thought I would ask on here whether any members have struggled long term with anterior shin pain, especially after stress fractures.
Background: I am a 31y/o Male, 178cm and 65kg. I started as a runner in my early twenties after very little sport growing up. I had a few good years of just running improved (16:00 5k, 33:45 10k, 74:01 HM), but after a few injuries it was highlighted that I have a 10mm leg length discrepancy and quite flat feet/high ankle mobility. I have typically opted for more supportive running shoes with a 4mm lift under the in sole on the shorter leg
In Spring 2016 I started to notice a dull pain on the outside of my shin bone (shorter leg) whilst running and afterwards. This would only be pinpointed by pressing firmly on the bone, and was not a sharp pain, just tender. It has never been severe and never stopped me running (In fact running quickly is almost painless), but noticeable when walking down stairs. It seemed to get more persistent, and an X-ray highlighted what was believed to be a minor stress fracture. At this point I stopped running for a few months upon recommendation, and mainly focused on steady cycling.
My first attempt to run again was met with a slightly dull pain, so I chose to rest for another few months. After this point I started to run again and seemed to be okay, with only occasional anterior muscle tightness every now and then. A repeat X-Ray in Spring 2017 showed no inflammation on the bone. Since then I have turned down run volume (40k per week max) and moved into Duathlons.
Through the 2018 season I noticed some tightness in the shin area again, both muscular and locally on the bone building up after runs, and on the build up to my final A race (ETU Standard Duathlon AG champs) I was becoming more aware of it. An X-ray after that was a little inconclusive, with some inflammation close to the bone and a general doctors opinion of 'maybe it is stress fractured again'. Given it was my off season, opted to rest for 8 weeks, still maintaining some steady cycling as cross training. After a few weeks rest I started to focus on strengthening calves, along with a general S&C programme for whole body.
I am now 3 weeks into a gentle taper into running again with short walk/run sessions on the treadmill. Over the winter my calf strength and general foot stability has improved greatly, but I have noticed a little muscular tightness on the anterior muscle, though no pain along the bone. I am certainly approaching any pain with elevated levels of caution at this point!
Summary: My goal of this post is to get any experiences that others have had of shin stress fracture rehab, repeat issues and ongoing pain. I am also interested in the general symptoms of shin stress fractures, as those that led to my initial diagnosis were always very mild, making me wonder whether it was correct, or if this symptoms suggest a different issue? Many thanks and apologies for the essay!