Whats wrong with my leg ?

[mark_ddickenson]

From around mid january whenever i played football i had a really bad aching pain in my left shin, it sometimes came in my right shin too. I was playing football 3-4 times a week, once on grass, 2-3 times on astroturf, i made it to the end of the season even though the pain was getting quite bad and then decided it was time to do something about it.

So i went to visit my doctor who said i may have strained the muscle along my shin so i he gave me some ibuprofen gel and told me to keep it strapped up as much as possible, so i did this and cut down my football to 1-2 casual times a week. After a month or so i saw no improvement so i went back to the doctor who said it was either damage to the muscle or my running technique had changed so i'd either need a period of rest for it to heal or train through it so my body could figure out how to compensate. I figured seen as it had been causing me pain for several months already rest was the way to go, after 3-4 weeks without playing at all the left felt fine so i gave it another week or so and went to play. After about 20 minutes the same old pain was straight back so i stopped playing, that was just over 2 weeks ago and i can still feel some discomfort in the leg especially if i apply some pressure to it.

I went back to my doctor last friday and he said all i could do was try resting for longer as maybe it hadn't healed enough to take the strain of running after my last rest. I'm getting pretty annoyed with it now to be quite honest as i've missed a lot of football now and look set to miss quite a lot more if i have to rest longer than previously. Coupled with my doctor not really seeming particularly interested or helpful i'd like to know if any of you could help me ?

The pain is now only in my left shin, about 2 inches below the knee on the front and outside edge of the bone. I would like to know what is wrong ? how long will it take to heal ? Is there anything i can do to speed up the recovery ? what exercise can i do in the mean time that wont worsen the injury ?

Any help would be much appreciated

[Heidi]

Hi
I would advise you visit a sports injury specialist. Most Doctors are not trained in this kind of problem and so the usual advise is rest and painkillers.
From what you have said it could be a number of things, including a compartment syndrome: http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/front/lowerleg/anteriorcompart.htm
or a stress fracture: http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/front/lowerleg/stressfracture.htm
Both of these tend to be caused by biomechanical problems, meaning to do with how you move. Again, a professional should be able to tell you if you have any such issues. You may find that the whole problem is corrected with the use of some insoles and calf stretches! Or it may take a little more work, but this is something that should be able to be treated effectively, with the right help.
Good luck!

[mark_ddickenson]

I had a feeling that would be the kind of advice i'd get, I was hoping I wouldn't need to pay to go and see a physio and i'm only a student, I dont earn a lot of money. It also pains me to have to pay for medical when we supposedly have a free National Health Service, I had read up on similar conditions before visits to my GP and mentioned a stress fracture to him as the condition had gone on so long but he took no interest in my opinion what so ever. Thus my hopes of being referred to a NHS physio were dashed.

[Heidi]

If you are studying at a uni which has a physio/sports therapy etc course they quite often have students who will assess/treat you for a reduced rate. Always worth a try.
If not, try to get a second opinion from another Doctor and kick up a fuss about getting referred!

[mark_ddickenson]

Well as it stands now the leg is feeling a lot better, its been about 3 weeks since I last tried to play football, I'm not feeling any pain from walking or applying pressure to the area so I'm less tempted to spend the money on a physio appointment at the moment. From things i've read it generally takes 6-8 weeks for stress fractures and similar injuries to heal so I was planning on having another couple of weeks rest and then trying some non-impact exercises such as cycling and swimming. Then after a few weeks of that i'd try going back to football but i'd book myself a doctors appointment for the day after my first attempt at football incase it goes bad again.

[mark_ddickenson]

Just wondered if you'd consider that to be a reasonale approach to a successful recovery ?

[Heidi]

Hi
Yes I would say that sounds ok. The only point I would make is don't go straight from non-impact exercise to football.
Try a few gentle jogs first, on a treadmill initially if you can because they have more give.
If these go ok, try on grass a few times, gradually building duration.
If still ok, then return to football training, starting off with light sessions.

[mark_ddickenson]

Thanks for the advice, i planned out some cycling and swimming sessions on a spare calender and with those i slowly increased the duration and decreased the amount of rest between sessions. I did kind of overlook doing the same thing with returning to impact exercise though usually with our football training we go for a jog and do some circuits first so i'll try something like that first before playing properly. And i have a group of friends that just have a casual kick around each week so that would be a more gentle pace for me to try and get back into first.

[mark_ddickenson]

Yesterday i went to back play football for the first time, i joined a gym a couple weeks ago and had been doing a lot of time on the exercise bikes and cross trainer then slowly building up more time on the treadmill. Was able to do 20 minutes steady jogging with no pain what so ever so i decided i'd try a bit of football, so i went along to football intending to play for around 10-15 minutes to see how it was. After about 2 minutes i had to jump up for a header, landed on just my left leg, the one i had a problem with and the old pain returned instantly. Now i feel like i've wasted 7 weeks doing nothing and i'm back to square 1. Any advice on what i should do now ?

[Heidi]

Hi
You really need to get this looked at. You appear to have done everything right regarding resting and a gradual increase so if it is still causing problems then it may be something more complex. I know its costly but it would be worth it to get it fixed and to get back to football.