I am just getting over a similar injury. My pain was on the inside of my knee cap and then it went straight down the inside of my calf muscle. My doc thought it was my hamstring pulling on the calf. Nothing I did with him helped. I have started to lift with my legs a little bit more aggressivley now that the pain has subsided. I have been jump roping and that has helped my lower legs. It took me a long time to get over this injury also. I ran for the first time yesterday since the first of August and I was pain free. I also changed my running form. I looked into Chi running and that seemed to help me. Maybe you could buy some Zoomer fins and a kickboard and kick in a pool for awhile. One thing I forgot about my calf muscle. It was weird, if felt like it was burning. As if someone put a thread on my leg that was hot. Just a very weird sensation I never felt before.

Mike

Gingacat I would suggest a visit to a good Podiatriast for a check over and biomechanical assessement to make sure everything is in order with the feet and lower limbs and your gait cycle is not comprimised. I have seen people with big toes that do not function correctly have major problems, it could be that simply so go get it checked mate.

Hope this helps some.

Cheers John Murphy :wink:

Thanks for the replies. I am waiting on a referral to see a podiatrist. However, I really think there is something else going on. It is getting excruciatingly painful to walk, despite the fact I am taking loads of Voltarol. My toes are also starting to feel very odd and any time I do put real weight on it it's as if someone is sticking a knife in right at the insertion of the tendon. I have never had so much pain in my entire life. I am almost on the point of visiting A&E with this.

I agree with your thinking that something else is going on. Along with a paodiatrist (spelling) you should seek out a sports therapist. Sounds like you could had shin splints at one time but has delveloped into something more; stress fracture or compartment syndrome.

While you were resting from running, did you begin any sexcerisises to sretghtin your shin muscles? Most of the time injuries inthat location are caused by either over training or under developed muslces.

Go to Runnersworld.com and go to the mind & body page. Several helpful articles on injuries (specifically the shins) and how to prevent them. But most importantly, after the podiatrist find a sports therapist that runs.

Good luck, I am just getting over shin splints and it takes while. STOP running, seek medical attention, and start a strength training routine.

Thanks. I haven't really done any running at all this year, apart from 4 mins on a treadmill when I had been relatively pain free for a week. This was pretty much pain free but later in the day the pain came on badly again. It seems to be the case that even though the symptoms go away, the very minute I try impact on it it flares up even worse than before.
The only other thing I can think of is some kind of nerve problem. The GP doesn't think it's compartment syndrome because pulses are present and there's no discoloration, but as it's on the posterior bit I have read that this wouldn't necessarily be the case anyway. If it has been a stress fracture, surely it might have healed by now, given that I've been off it for 12 weeks or more at a time...? Mind you, I am a teacher and am basically on my feet all the time so it hasn't had any total rest!
At the moment I'm in the gym for an hour every morning just on the bike and cross trainer. Mind numbing! I just want to get out and run up hills, but fear I won't ever get back to it at all.

If it is a stress fracture and you are on your feet all day then you are right, it is potentially not getting enough rest.

Since you have been to a GP, your next step is a Sports therapist. They have all sorts of tests they can conduct to discover the issue at hand.

Good luck with this. I know I would be frustrated and pissed off beyond belief if thie were me. Keep us updated when you and the sports therapist figure it out. :)

Often these problems generate from poor support within the counter (heel) of the shoes you're wearing. This causes tib post to over contract to prevent hind foot overpronation. Long term this can create micro avulsion fractures at the origin producing the exact pain pattern you are referring to.

3 things need to be done to resolve the problem.

1, purchase a good set of runners. I would recommend either ASICS or Brooks. Do not use runners tat have air soles as they will create problems for you.

2, Check to see if overpronation is a problem. I would recommend seeing a podiatrist. If you do need orthotics, ensure they are fully flexible custom made.

3, Consume a 1cm cube of RAW potato 3 times a day for 6-8 days. This will heel the avulsion problems.

Sounds very similar to to a running injuriy that I used to have 2 years ago after just 6 months of running and it still comes back to haunt me every now when I do too many impact exercises.
I looked up many different types of injurys and I just concluded that it was stress fractures scince the cause and symptoms matched it best , but you can't be too sure.
I beleive I got it because I had stopped running for a while and then suddenly started running twice everyday again (It was almost an obsession) on hilly roads and cement footpaths , at about 3 to 9 km distances , I was also trying to run farther and in less time each time I ran , by then Im sure my shoes shock absorption was worn out and I continued to run even though I had calf pain which just keeped getting worse , then I realised this feels nothing like muscle pain it was much worse.
I had to stop running altogether (I was at my peak and this was just about 3 months before the cross country) and as it keepet getting worse so I gave myself rest for a while and it came back again tried again and it keept comming back after each time I gave running a longer rest so I couldn't do much running at all until I had to race with the injury :cry: .
I actully did quite well scince I only did like 5 runs in the past 3 months before the race! , otherwise Im sure I would have made it into state "a dream come true" ; I just missed out into making it into state level by 8 positions in front of me , Im sure I still managed to do this well with injury and been deprived from training because of my secret weapon charbohydrate loading.
Sorry for the long story but my point is I konw exactly how you feel it's very depressing and irritating to be "amputated from your passion" :evil:
After that race I knew it was time to take one big , long rest from running , 3 months of no running later I thought it was gone , my frind asked me to demonstrate some plyometric exercises (on a hard surface) and I could feel it coming back straight away , and back away in the next day or so.
I'd say it took at least 8 months to heal 99%
Now I only run 5 times a week on grass and I take a calcium supplement.
So my advice from this experience is :as above , get in to other types of exercises/sports so if running dosen't work out for you you don't lose everything and get disapointed and depressed (Im gald I still have speed skating it has less impact :) ) , be patient time will heal this type of injury (I now laugh off any normal soft tissue injury unless...) , the calf muscles are fatigued you won't absorb shock as well so make sure you strengthen them in the gym and recover before attempting to run again , back off from exercise the next time you feel it coming back , wear good shoes that match you foot type and running technique and try iceing it.
I hope you find this infomation helpful and encouraging , you can beat it but it may take time and rest from running and other exercises for some time unfortunetly. :arrow:

Thanks again for the replies.

Dr Trev - I hadn't logged in for a while and have just noticed your reply. This is quite timely as I had just seen a podiatrist on Friday who has diagnosed exactly the type of problem that you describe involving tib post. He did use quite a lot of terminology that I didn't quite get a handle on, but I think the gist of it was that I am a forefoot striker but that I also have an overpronation problem and my foot is extremely flexible and therefore unstable. My orthotics are being made at the moment. Your reply is encouraging as it does match what he said. I was very sceptical about this as I had always been told that I had a neutral gait with no major biomechanical problems - but without even seeing me walk he asked me whether anyone had ever described my running style as "bouncy", which they have.
This podiatrist is saying that perhaps I will be back running by September if things work out. As much as I know I will have to wait until the problem fully resolves, I think I will be jumping off a cliff if I have to wait until September after a whole year of this. I am trying to keep my spirits up but I have seriously hit rock bottom. My fitness is on the slide even though I am going to the gym daily. I have also gained a stone in weight and although I am nine stone and just over five foot six (so in no way overweight) I do now feel it will be massive struggle to get as fit as I was.
Anyway, sorry for the sob story and thanks again for your help. :cry:

Oh, by the way, can you tell me what's in the raw potato that would heal avulsion fractures (just out of interest!). I can't say I am looking forward to it much, but I'll give anything a go if I think it's going to help!