I’ve been dealing with posterior shin splints in my right leg for the last couple of months. I started getting IMS treatment (needles), icing several times a day, wearing compression socks around the house, focusing on my running technique, etc, and have, for the most part, kept them at bay. Ran a 1:34 off the bike in Vancouver, and a 27k long run the week after with no problems, however, I missed my physio (IMS) treatment the week between those runs, and kind of slacked with the icing and recovery stuff. I felt that old familiar nagging dull shin pain a bit this week, but nothing bad… Until today. I went out for what was supposed to be a 30k long run, and turned around after 2k because the dull pain that usually goes away after a kilometre or two had turned sharp and would not subside. Every start after a stop light I was wincing, and the pain just wasn’t going away, so I bagged the run.
There is no non-weight bearing pain, I can squat, walk around and such with no sharp pain, although I can feel that the area is irritated. It is just running that causes the sharp pain. Usually, this has happened after my long runs, and a physio appointment with the IMS treatment and some massage clears the pain away very quickly. I’m so, so close to IMC I really don’t want to risk a stress fracture right now, but I also want to get my runs in. I was hoping to get one more good 30-32k run in before my taper starts. How bad do shin splints get before you get a stress fracture? Are the IMS treatments actually helping if the pain keeps coming back? They are allowing me to run pain free, but it seems like a bandaid solution.
Sounds like you are guessing and hoping that it hasn’t already developed into a stress fracture. The symptoms sound almost identical to my son’s in his last year of high school during cross country season. MRI showed a grade (class?) 4 stress fracture. Season was over. Boot for 3 weeks, no running (even water running) for another 3 weeks then the super gradual re-introduction back into running.
Best to get it diagnosed or you may be in worse shape.
I ran on mine for a long time after it turned into a stress fracture thinking it was just really bad shin splints. I eventually fractured the other foot due to overcompensating and they discovered the tibial stress fracture when bone scanning the foot.
Here’s what I remember. It was VERY sore to push on at a point. With shin splints you usually feel a dull but manageable pain if you press firmly along the inside of the tibia but it isn’t really worse at any point. Just a constant dull sort of pain. I also couldn’t hop on one foot more than just a couple of times before the pain got really bad and towards the end I could barely walk on it (but I kept right on running…) In addition, my leg would swell up while I slept and the pain would wake me up during the night. I would have to ice it and take pain killers before I could fall asleep again.
Best thing to do would be to go see a sport doc and get them to bone scan it to rule anything out if you think it might be a problem.
my co-worker has the same symptons. can walk around with no problems, once she starts running it hurts. she got a MRI recently and it confirm that she has a stress fracture (this is her second one and the other leg this time). the other test is if you touch the area where it hurts and you feel pain then it’s a stress fracture. my best friend also had a stress fracture as well with the same symptons.
The other general test is a tuning fork - hit the fork so it vibrates and place it near the leg. If you can feel pain from the vibration it’s likely a fx.
NOTE: This is somewhat of a wive’s tale: part truth but probably has some false + and false -
To the OP: A 30k run sounds like a risk. If you get a fx you’re out for good. Can you do it in the pool? Better to show up underprepared than get hurt and not be able to show up.
If the dry needling takes the pain away in a couple treatments then it wouldn’t make sense for it to be a stress fracture. Perhaps some chronic stress reaction at the muscular attachment to the bone. Bone pain is bone pain during an impact regardless of how well the muscle is doing. Also, if your PT does a treatment ultrasound over the area it would likely be painful if there was a fracture present. Tuning fork test is another option. You might want to assess the root cause for why you are recruiting the musculature so heavily. Digging your toes into your shoes? Purposely holding the foot inverted at initial contact? Recruiting the hip musculature as well on the right? If not then perhaps those lower leg muscles are working harder than they should have to. What is different about your technique on your right leg, hip and foot compared to the left? Throw up a link to a video of your running from the front, rear, and side if you want more feedback.
I deal with shin splints often and have had a few stress fractures over the years. The way you describe it sounds exactly like a stress fracture. The Jumping on one leg mentioned above has always been an indicator for me as to whether or not I can run. If I can jump up and down on the hurt leg 30 times without pain then I begin walk/running again.
Here is what I do. When I think I have a stress fracture, I see the Dr. immediately and explain the situation. I don’t get any tests. I then do no running for 6 weeks and do the jumping thing every so often. After 6 weeks I go back to the Dr. and request tests. Last time it was a bone scan, but others talk about MRI’s and such. Usually at this point they can find the healing around the fracture and or the problem. I’ve never had one last longer than six weeks, but then again, I’ve never had shin splints as you described them.
Hey - I just recovered from a tibial stress fracture. I was off running for about 12 weeks. I saw a good orthopedic surgeon in Austin who treats lots of runners. Mine came on after a winter of marathon training and some shorter events. The doctor used the test one poster mentioned about hopping on the affected leg as one diagnostic tool. Other tests included: does it hurt all the time or just when you run; is the pain diffuse over a couple of inches or highly focused on one small spot? For me it was one little spot and it hurt all the time - two telltale signs of stress fx. Regular Xrays don’t show them. They sent me for a bone scan and it confirmed the fracture. That’s the only way to tell for sure. They told me that rest is only cure. Remember - if it is a stress fracture it is literally a broken bone, albeit one that broke gradually versus a sudden trauma. Good luck.