shin splints or stress fracture???

[swatts831]

A little over two weeks ago I slipped down 3 stairs after it rained. Needless to say I bruised my right Achilles tendon, have multiple other bruises, but I did something to my left tibia and I'm not sure what. About 4 days after the initial accident, I had this intense pain in the lower inside region of my left tibia. It hurt to even lie on my stomach and sleep. Just it touching on the pillow top bed hurts! I sprayed icy hot on it and just doing that hurt! It hurts to walk on it my h less do anything else. I can't justify going to the doctor when I don't have insurance, I'm thinking its much of nothing and it will be ok.... But after over two weeks if this pain, it's hard to just forget about it. Besides if it is a fx or shin splits, there's not much they can do for it anyway right?

[swatts831]

Thank you for your reply. I had been trying to stay off my leg as much as possible, taking ibuprofen, ice, etc. I did notice that the pain had gotten considerably better, about 90% better, then all of a sudden this morning the pain is back full force! It feels swollen and it's right on top of the tibia about 3 inches from where the foot bends, and extends upward about an additional 3 inches. I also noticed today that it's more of a dull pain when touching the area, but when I lift my leg up (like from an elevated position), or if I'm sitting on my bed with legs indian style, it feels like a stabbing pain if any of this makes sense. Also, if I've been sitting in a chair for a while and go to stand up, the pain from the initial pressure almost knocks me back down.

This is just really frustrating to me at this point. This has been going on since around September 20th. I'm starting to think there may be more to this than a contusion like the clinic physician suggested. There's never been any bruising to the area; just lots of pain.

[S. Kaul, MD]

Hi there!

Well, without a clinical evaluation it would be difficult to determine the cause of your symptoms. Possibilities that may need to be considered include fractures, dislocations/ subluxation, chondromalacia, injuries to tendons/ ligaments/ internal knee structures, AVN etc. I would suggest getting this evaluated by an orthopedician for a detailed evaluation and suggestion of an appropriate management plan. Meanwhile I would suggest resting the knee. Ice-packs and tylenol/ OTC NSIADS may also be helpful for pain relief.
Hope this helps.

Take care!