Feeling Pain in My Lower Leg

[Steve P]

I started back into running at the beginning of this year. I have been increasing my mileage each week by 5-10 percent. I run on the treadmill for almost all my runs. About a month ago, I ran a 5 miler outside. It was the first time I had run outside this year. Towards the end, I tripped and fell but didn't feel any pain from it. When I got home, I noticed that the inside of my shin bone was feeling a little numb in one spot. I don't know if there is a connection between the fall and the pain or if it was a coincidence.

Since then, I have felt pain in the same spot. When I press on the bone, it hurts, but until recently I haven't felt any pain while running. It's only a slight discomfort though. Today after my run it was hurting while I walked on it. But not excruciating pain.

The pain is in a spot that I think goes vertically along my shin but not very far vertically. I read online that if you feel vertical pain, it's probably shin splints, but if you feel horizontal pain it is likely to be a stress fracture.

After I started feeling the pain, I transitioned to a newer pair of running shoes. But it hasn't gone away.

I have never been one to get injuries in running (ran through high school, a year in college, and off an on since then).

Does anybody have any similar experiences or ideas on how I can determine whether this is something routine or something I should be worried about and should see a doctor? I really don't want to see a doctor and have her/him tell me to stop running if that's not necessary. I'm just starting to gain momentum in my training and would hate to lose it.

[Jose Jimenez]

Steve, see the replies to my earlier question about shin splints.  There is actually a lot of good advice about this type of pain on the forum.  I'm going to try some of the stretches and exercises and cut back on some of the intensity of my runs.  My guess is that this is mostly a muscle strength and flexibility issue.  It also sounds like having the wrong shoes does not help the issue.  We'll see how my strategy works for me.  Good luck to you.

[Steve P]

Thanks. I guess part of my question was whether this sounds like shin splints or something else. I can deal with shin splints. But I'm just worried that if it's something else it could be a problem.

[James Winzenz]

Steve, if the pain is getting worse, then you may want to get it looked at.  Also definitely look at Jose's entry about shin splints.  For me personally, when I got shin splints, it was always localized and was always on the inside of my shin (what they refer to as "posterior" shin splints).  How is your stretching regimen?  Are your calves tight or sore?  What kind of shoes did you transition from and to?  Have you tried massaging and icing the area?  Unless it continues to get worse, I would guess that you are dealing with shin splints (possibly from doing all your miles on the treadmill, which does cause the speed of your foot pronation to increase over normal running outside due to the movement of the belt) and massage, ice and stretching should help out.  Consider cutting back for a couple weeks to let it heal up, also consider ibuprofen to help with inflammation, remembering that you need to take it regularly to get a certain level in your bloodstream for the anti-inflammatory effect to kick in.

[Steve P]

Thanks for all the advice. I haven't stretched as much as I probably should, so I'll have to get better at that. My calves get sore sometimes, but it's not very bad. I used to have some basic New Balance shoes that probably had 800-1000 miles on them and transitioned to Asics Gel Kahana 2. I think the latter are designed for trail running and overpronators, so that might be causing some troubles. My shin has been feeling better lately, so I'll have to see how it goes. If the pain gets worse, I'll try massaging and icing and ibuprofen and schedule a Dr. appointment just to be safe. Thanks again.