Pain in upper shin, right below knee, after exercise

[shane-c]

For the past year or so, any time I play basketball or football, or any sport than involves a lot of hard running and jumping, I develop a pretty bad pain in my upper shin, right below the knee.

It's often bad enough to keep me from playing for at least 5 days after, and causes me to limp when going up stairs - I can walk fine on it, but when I put weight on it while my knee is bent the pain is almost unbearable.

I can also feel a slight bump, and it's painful to touch if I push hard enough on it. It's a very small area, maybe 1", that hurts, though.

If I let it heal for about a week, then I can play pain-free again. But after about an hour of playing, the pain develops again and sticks around for another week.

I really appreciate any help. Thanks!

[Heidi]

Hi

How old are you? Could be one of a couple of things.

Have a look at both of these pages:

http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/front/knee/osgood.htm

http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/front/knee/indexjumpersknee.html

The first one is a link to osgood schlatters disease, more common in young athletes due to the bones still being soft.

The second is patella tendonitis or jumpers knee which is a common condition is people playing sports involving lots of jumping/running.

[shane-c]

Hi Heidi,

Thanks for the reply. Based on those two sites, it does feel like Osgood-Schlatters Disease (that bony bump right below the pain is exactly where the pain and slight swelling is), although I am 22 years old, so that seems less likely in that respect.

Also, not sure if this affects anything, but I have always been sort of flat-footed, and my knees do bend a little inward. I've had a physical therapist in the past tell me that this puts extra strain on the tendon connecting to my patella, and that stretching would help. I haven't been very good about stretching, so maybe that would help... Anyway, thanks again, and any more thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

[Heidi]

OK, that extra bit of info does help! Having flat feet really does put a lot more stress on the lower legs especially, including the patella tendon.

Get your feet assessed properly. It may be a case of getting a certain type of trainers or may mean getting some insoles, but both are easily done and should really help.

Have a look at this page for more info on this:
http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/general/pronate.htm

Other than that, yes stretch the hamstrings, quads, calves and glutes three times a day (will only take approx 3 minutes each time - and is well worth it!)

Have a look at our new stretching section to see some examples:
http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/stretching/allstretches.php

If your knnes fall in I would also recommend strengthening the Hip abductors (gluteus medius/gluteus minimus/tensor fascia latae). Check out the outer hip exercises using resistance bands, body weight and resistance machine in the strengthening section:
http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/strengthening/strengthening.php

Good luck!