Question:
I have been training for about 4 months for my first marathon that
will take place in 2 weeks. Prior to that I had been running about 20
miles/week for 2 years. Yesterday, while running an 8-miler I noticed
a dull pain on the inside of my left shin. As the pain was not bad, I
ran through it. The pain is still not bad, and I do not notice it at
all while walking. The pain is, however, acute to the touch, about 3
inches above the ankle, and concentrated in about a 1/2 inch area. It
feels like I was kicked in the shin.
My main question is: Can this be a stress fracture? I ask b/c I would
have expected more pain from a stress fracture. This is more like an
ache, and only when I run. Also, if I rest and the pain subsides
within the next weeek or so, can I Assume it is not a stress fracture?
Answer:
I speak from experience. When I was younger (ignorant, overtrained, ran 10k in
military boots with rucksack and rifle for Army), I suffered multiple stress
fractures in both lower leg bones.
First, a stress fracture will usually hurt whenever you walk. As soon as you
get out of bed the pain can begin. So if the pain only occurs while running
then that is a good sign for no stress fracture.
Second, you can do a touch test to determine if the injury involves bone or
soft tissue. Touch the tender area that you are talking about. The area of your
injury is the same as my stress fractures, but I have also had a soft tissue
injury in the same area. A stress fracture will have the most tender spot right
on the bone. If the tender spot is on soft tissue area then it is most likely
not a stress fracture.
Another symptom that I had with the stress fractures is if I jarred the leg
such as something hitting it then a pain would shoot up through my lower leg
bones into my thigh bone. In other words, a stress fracture usually hurts more
and you will protect it more.
Also, it is usually impossible to continue running on a stress fracture. The
pain just gets more intense with each step.
A stress fracture typically takes 6 to 8 weeks to heal, and, in my case I could
tell it was there for the whole time. The soft tissue injury that I had felt
better almost immediately after I stopped running.
You can get a bone scan done to get an exact answer. I had one done on my first
stress fracture. I did not need one on the other fractures because once you
have had one you will always know when you have another one.
Hope this helps. BTW, I forever cured my stress fracture problem by training
For now I'm assuming it's not a stress
fracture based on the messages and emails I've received. I took 5
days off, ran 13 yesterday, and have no pain, although I can still
feel the tender area (no pain, but still feels like a mild bruise on
the bone).
One of the emails I received pointed out that the calf muscles have
attachments that run down the side of the shin, and it's likely that
area can get inflamed when the muscle breaks down after a long run.
Also, as my wife constantly reminds me, I have chikin' legs, so it's
hard to tell where the bone ends, and the tissue begins since the
