bump on my shin

[gabbah]

Hey guys.
My shin has been sore for a while, and it's now almost back to normal. However, when I run my finger up and down the shin bone (near the inside of the bone; the sharp side) I can feel a small bump. It's pretty hard so I'm thinking it could be cartilage.
There has been no visible swelling though.. so what do you guys think it is?

It still hurts a bit when I kick the pads. Should I wait until I'm completely recovered or is it better to just kick anyway to toughen the shins so that they adapt?

Any info is appreciated!

[koto_ryu]

Could be a calcium deposit, when did you first hurt your shin?

[gregimotis]

Just kick lightly on the bag and concentrate on your form for a while.


If it's bad enough that you are considering taking a break, then it's probably bad enough to take it seriously.
You don't want to be that guy who wouldn't take it easy for three days and now he can't train at all for two weeks.

[gabbah]

I think it started when I kicked the pads hard but wrong. The guy holding them was not holding the straight enough, and I kicked really horisontal, hitting more with the outside of the shin than with the bone.
After a few kicks I was really sore and stopped kicking.
After that it really hurt when I bumped the shin into anything, even doing it softly.
Now it's better. I competed kicking a few kicks full force. After the match the shins hurt even if I didn't touch them (I have the same problem on both shins, the right one being worse than the left).

Now I can kick the pads with the left and it only starts hurting a bit after I have kicked for a few minutes.
I have kicked very little since I got the problem, it was a few weeks ago. The bump feels pretty permanent...

[gregimotis]

Is the pain an achy sort of thing? Is it aggravated when you run? Maybe shin splints...

[gabbah]

I'm not sure what shin splints is...
Between the muscle and the shin bone there is something called periosteum. I have heard it can be damaged by running a lot.. or maybe as in my case, by hitting the muscle wrong and thus pulling on the periosteum and hurting it.
It has been suggested to me that that may be my problem. Anyway, I think it's almost healed.. but knowing myself I tend to start training too soon. However, I did compete and kick full force, and after a day it was the same as before the tournament. So I guess it can't be that serious then?

I don't feel it by just running... maybe that's because I don't run a lot. But when I'm in the gym and train my calves, I feel a little pain on the front of the shins again.. like when kicking the pads. I guess it's because there is so much blood the preassure rises where the tissue is damaged... not sure.

[gabbah]

Could be a calcium deposit, when did you first hurt your shin?

What is that and is it good or bad in the long run?
It's not the same as cartilage?

[gregimotis]

I'm not a doctor, but what you describe sounds like what I understand happens with what I call 'shin splints', resting the area should fix the problem.

Calcium deposits are generally considered benign. They are hard lumps that form on bones after hard and/or repeated contact. They may shrink over time, or they may not.

[gabbah]

I hate resting

Well let's hope it's calcium deposit then... so that it won't hurt there again at least. After all, I want my shins to adapt to hard contact.
Thanks for the info guys!

[Keeper]

Sorry if I repeat what anybody else has said, I only read the posts quickly.
Sounds like a calcification. When there is one or cluster of small (even tiny) hair-line fractures on the bone, the body concentrates it's calcium (obtained from the diet) to the damaged area to re-build it. Like filling in cracks in a wall. What often happens is the the body is anticapting further impacts and uses more calcium than is needed to make it stronger than before. That's why the bone is actually raised into a bump.

I have a bump like that on my forearm after taking a full-force blow from a rattan stick (hint - don't block sticks with your arm!) But it doesn't just happen from sudden impacts. It can happen from repeated abuse. Like my middle right knuckle. Years of hitting things with it... then one day it couldn't take any more and fractured. Now because of the healing (calcification) process it's bigger than all the other knuckles.

Use a linament on the area to heal it properly and lay off that leg for a while. Until it doesn't hurt anymore at least. If you don't have a linament go to chinese herbalist and ask for zhen gu shui or dit da jow (sound really cool and exotic don't they?!)
And you can try soaking in a bath with lots of sea salt in it (trust me it works, don't know why, but it does)

Good luck, happy training and don't forget to tell everybody that you got a hair-line fracture from kicking things too hard and got a calcification (sounds kinda macho, the chicks dig it )
Keeper

[gabbah]

hello Keeper!
Haha, so you too have a BIG knuckle!
I do too.. I got it after hitting the bag full force pretty early, it got swollen, and now it's bigger and stronger! Looks like a knock down knuckle!

I use tiger balm on the sore parts of the shins. That sea salt stuff.. are you saying if I use that I will get well over night? I would pay good money for that hehe.
It sounds like you are right about the hair line fracture. Well then it's all good.. I'll just rest a bit then I will kick the living shit out of the thai pads!

Oh and thanks for the tip about telling everybody! Macho macho man getting all the chicks hehe!