stabbing pain on shin bone

Hi- for a few years I've been getting random stabbing pains in my right shin, on the bone. It's not shin splints. It's not a fracture. It lasts less than a minute and I have absolutely no other symptoms. It doesn't even hurt to the touch. The pain though, is major- stops me in my tracks. Thank goodness it doesn't hurt for long. As I said, it is totally random. Could be a few months in between or it could be a couple times in a day. Any ideas as to what it could possibly be?

[S. Kaul, MD]

Hi there!

Well, without a clinical evaluation it would be difficult to determine the cause of your pain. Possibilities that may need to be considered include stress fractures, periostitis, neuro-muscular causes such as nerve impingement, muscular spasm, injuries to tendons/ ligaments, micronutrient deficiencies etc. I would suggest getting this evaluated by a primary care physician or an orthopedician for an accurate diagnosis and appropriate management.
Hope this helps.

Take care!