shin bone pain / sensitive

[bones2]

hey guys

been training mma for a couple years and for the last 4 or 5 months my shins have been hurting but dont have any bruising or anything.

Ive been powering through it but even tryed taking a couple weeks off, still doesnt help. Even just poking the bone with my finger causes pain. Doing any kind of blocking is out of the question, its getting hard to hide the pain

I thought my shins were supposed to get stronger, whats the deal here?
recommendations?

 

[rckvl]

What specifically do you train, and are you doing any other physical things such as strength training/conditioning?
Still, I would see a sports doctor if it continues to bother you.

 

[Dafreeclinic]

Shin splints? Thats my best.

 

[bones2]

thanks for the replies guys, just googled shin splints and that seems to be more of a muscle thing, the muscles dont hurt, i feels like its the actual bone that hurts when its touched.

I do muai thai and bjj based mma, obviously this sucks during muai thai. I might try to find an doc, anyone got any other input?

 

[Tosa]

Could be stress fractures. See a doctor.

 

[miaou]

Is there a specific spot that hurts or is it the entire bone?

Are you sure it's not just leftover bruising from blocking low-kicks on the anterior part of the tibia? If not, that might be stress edemas.


EDIT: dammit Tosa

 

[bones2]

is there anything you do for stress fractures or do they just get better? I just moved and i dont have a doctor out here and its impossible to get one

 

[bones2]

its not the entire bone btw its about 6-7 inches on both legs right in the middle

 

[Tosa]

is there anything you do for stress fractures or do they just get better? I just moved and i dont have a doctor out here and its impossible to get one

It would depend on how bad the stress fracture is. And that's just a possibility. Maybe it's not that bad, or possibly it's something worse.

And where are you that you can train MMA, but not see a doctor?

 

[1standarduser**]

Don't take a fight in this condition, it's much more likely to break a shin when you have 'shinsplints' or stress fractures.

I have had similar pains in my shins that now don't bug me.
My guess is that running on concrete right now is also a problem.
Hitting the heavy bag too much probably makes them sensitive for a couple days.

To solve the problem:
1) Take a rest from any shin contact. A good month. No kicking or running at all.
2) During your 'rest' period do heavy weight workouts (squats and deadlifts). You can even continue to do JJ if you want.
3) After the month is up, do light running several days a week. on dirt. with good shoes, or none at all (bare foot is better than bad shoes).

If that doesn't work, take another month off. It's not something you can 'power through' and just be a tuff guy and hope it goes away.

 

[golvmopp]

(bare foot is better than bad shoes)

I've been checking out the subject of barefoot running numerous times lately. It seems that the proponents of barefoot running are advocating an adjusted step, rather than ditching the shoes on principle.

In short, the bad thing is that shoes make people accustomed to planting the heel first while running - something that makes the shock of the entire bodyweight being absorbed by nothing more than your knee. The knee isn't designed to continuously be placed under strain like this for prolonged periods.
So what barefoot-runners do, aside from ditching the shoes, is to place the middle - or the toes - of the foot into the ground first. This allows the foot to act as a shock-absorber, relieving a lot of the stress from the knee. Part of running like this also requires you to take shorter steps, which further reduces the kinetic energy and stress on your knee.

What I just said is basically a loose paraphrase from the articles I've read, but it covers the basic knowledge of what they're saying.

From my own experiences, they are right. I haven't ditched the shoes, but I've started taking shorter steps, and moved the contact-point of the foot forward from the heel. It does make your step feel a lot lighter, much to the relief of your knees.

HOWEVER - running like this utilizes your calves a lot more than running on your heels. Trust me when I say that you should try small distances at a time, initially. My calves killed me after the first session.