Freakin shin won't heal...

[BudoMonkey]

Aaaah, the holidays. I skipped training yesterday, and spent the evening putting up christmas lights to compete with the neighbors, chugging caffeine beverages all through the night and eventually ending up with a wicked case of insomnia which left me feeling like a zombie in EMT school today.

Wilson Gouveia (my teacher) is fighting Jason MacDonald this weekend on the TUF finale, so I know ya'll will be out there in full force supporthing him. Right? RIGHT?!

Anyhow people, I'm having a little problem, want to know what advice you can offer. I've been doing muay thai for 8 years or so, and I've hurt my shin a number of times but this one seems different. Usually I heal like frickin wolverine, and I'm good to go a day or two after getting injured, but this one just won't seem to get better.

I was sparring a guy straight from thailand about 3 and 1/2 weeks ago, and ever since then I have a horrible pain in my lower shin, just above the ankle, every single time I kick and it doesn't feel like it's getting better at all. Weird thing is, there isn't a bruise in this spot. There were other bruises on my leg, to be sure, but they all healed quite normally.

Thoughts, suggestions?

I don't know much about shin splints, could that be a possibility? Also, I have considered taking a super-calcium supplement called BONE-UP to help me heal. Has anyone heard of it?

Thanks

[hegs]

Stress fracture? Shoot, can't they give you a free MRI at your EMT school?

Check your email.

[TheRuss]

Could be all manner of things. With the shin, an X-ray should probably suffice to identify bone issues (unless it's a really subtle stress fracture). Can you get one done?

Also...

I have a horrible pain in my lower shin, just above the ankle, every single time I kick and it doesn't feel like it's getting better at all.

Maybe it doesn't feel like it's getting any better because you keep kicking things with it? Just a thought...

And finally...

Also, I have considered taking a super-calcium supplement called BONE-UP to help me heal.

Are you not getting enough calcium in your diet? To the best of my knowledge, if you're already getting enough calcium, getting more won't speed healing.

[BudoMonkey]

Hmm...maybe I really should stop kicking things with it, after all.

Russ- Nah, I get puh-lenty of calcium, so I guess it shouldn't be that. I just back from work and a personal trainer friend said that it sounds (due to the lack of bruising and placement of injury) that it might be more tendon damage than bone.

I had a stress fracture in my hand about 4-5 months ago, and it doesn't feel like that. It's on a whole different part of the body though, so you never know.

I'll check into the x-ray/mri, good point Hegs.

Russ, know anything about tendon damage?

[TheRuss]

Note: Calcium absorption by the intestine is stimulated by Vitamin D, so if anyone winds up taking supplemental calcium, they should swing some Vitamin D to go with it at about the same time.

Or just drink milk, which contains natural calcium and is fortified with Vitamin D (in Canada, at least).

a personal trainer friend said that it sounds (due to the lack of bruising and placement of injury) that it might be more tendon damage than bone.

I don't know about that. Is it on the medial (right side of left leg) or lateral (left side of left leg) side of the tibia, or right on it? I'm looking at this, and it looks like there are a number of tendons nestled in on the lateral side. Could be the transverse crural ligament, I suppose.

I had a stress fracture in my hand about 4-5 months ago, and it doesn't feel like that. It's on a whole different part of the body though, so you never know.

Well, I'd be surprised if it was a stress fracture - more likely to be a plain ol' fracture.

Does it hurt for you to dorsiflex your foot (using the muscles on the front of your shin, not pulling it up with your hand)?

Russ, know anything about tendon damage?

Not as much as I'd like to, no. Make sure to get the X-ray (or equivalent) to rule out bone-related stuff before you start looking at tendons, though.

[mrm1775]

Neither a stress fracture nor a tendon injury is likely to show up on an x-ray. If you can, go straight for an MRI or a bone scan.

[TheRuss]

Neither a stress fracture nor a tendon injury is likely to show up on an x-ray.

Stress fracture might (if there's a callus, which may have developed in this timeframe), tendon injury won't unless it's really obvious.

Another question to go with the dorsiflexion one: does it hurt when you stand/walk?

Edit: I'm saving this article as a note to myself, because it talks about progressive overload for bones and I think that's a really neat approach.,

[v1y]

all i know is that i'm a canadian, and that gouveia is going to smash macdonald.