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Acupuncture for shins/lower legs?
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Anyone any experience of this?
The background to the issue is medial shin pain that started in June last year when i started trying to train for Brighton 2011. Its seems 5 days a week aerobics was ok but when that started to include Body Attack & then running my legs started to hurt, i took 2 weeks off from any sport/exercise (& became incredibly depressed again - long term problem that my gym work has helped with more than anything else)
finally got an NHS physio appointment in January (can't afford anything else) who said stop impact work, so i did. No Body Attack 
and only 3 runs (2 10K & a 30 min jog with a friend) between then a marathon day. Did the marathon, didn't feel any pain in my shins - was using Rock tape (KT tape) jury is still out as to whether is actually worked or just worked as a placebo effect.
Since removing the tape & trying to get back to the gym, the slightest impact is agony after no more than 10 minutes. Had to walk out of aerobics wednesday, go straight to the power plate & then into the showers to hose my legs down with ice cold water. After over 24 hours rest & ice i was fine by thursday evening & able to get through a whole Body Attack class (which i really needed mentally, after a stressful day).
After the class the instructor who was a lady i hadn't met before, questioned compartment syndrome which she had finally been diagnosed with after years of aerobics & jumping around. She said accupuncture has solved her issues by helping to relieve the pressure in her muscles & legs.
I never did get a diagnosis out of my physio (or her student) just massage, ultra sound & once chinese suction cups (ouch!). X-ray & MRI which showed nothing wrong at all. She said no to compartment syndrome, as my pain didn't go away quick enough after exercise. It does ease as soon as i stop, just doesn't go away completely thats all.
I think i am going to have to dip into my savings & see the physio based at another local gym. Being based there i would hope they have more sports knowledge - and it is actually the place that Bex, the instructor said she had been to for the acupuncture.
So back to my original question - anyone any experience of acupuncture?
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Comments
Morning!
I had accupuncture for a peroneus brevus/longus tendon problem. (runs along outer side of lower leg, to ankle) I had pain in my foot that felt as if I was standing on broken glass.
First session of accupuncture totally wiped me out, battled to stay awake after 9pm that night, felt rough next morning; by lunch time pain was gone.
Two more weekly sessions after that and not a twinge since!
Hope all goes well for you!
Thank Jenn - filing me with hope there
were they complete insoles or just part inserts/orthotics? Mike seemed to imply they were just partial inserts to support the arch of my foot.
Hi Jenny
I am so glad you have posted again, we spoke (in this forum) earlier this year when we were both suffering and trying to train for our marathons, sounds like yours went brilliantly, mine was a disaster, pain started at 8 miles and could not run from 10 limped (in a lot of pain) the rest of the way.
Needless to say I am still suffering now with pain in my shin (left leg) went swimming on sunday and tried a little jog in the car park when I came out, my shin felt like it had been hit with an axe, going to try again this sunday.
It's really annoying isn't it ?
They are part insoles, come up as far as the ball of my foot and made from hard plastic. They were given to me by the hospital. On the surface look pretty chic, plain colour with a raised heel which I'm supposed to swap with an even higher heel (the underneath of the heel clicks off and can be exchanged with other specially designed heels).
I'm supposed to swap them over in a week or two but they aren't going as well as I'd hoped: I'm getting pain the other side of my calf now (original pain = posterior tibial, new pain = higher up on the other side, think its the medial/anterior part). I'm hoping its just growing pains as they are still relativly new having started wearing them at the begininng of March. But the fact that the pain didn't occur within the first two or three days does worry me.
Am now considering barefoot running as I sort of feel at the end of a fuse with this now, I know others have had them for longer but this pain (diagnosed as shin splints by an orthopedic specialist and confirmed by a physio) has been ongoing now for over 3 years, will be 4 in the summer! But in order for me to even contemplate barefoot running I want/need to start off in good nik. This means not having the tibial pain, on either side of my leg!! I have been resting but walking actually hurts just as much as running and theres no way I can eliptical-ate or spin my way around the supermarket/tube/street every day!
SO! Your write up on accupuncture interests me, I am not healing well in my mind as its changing and getting worse, I don't think I should be limping after nearly 2 months of insole wearing! I am hoping that things go well for you, it gives me some hope that maybe there is something else I could try to get this thing healing faster!
Are you still seeing the Physio, Jenn? I'm guessing it is NHS, given you said they were given to you my the hospital. What are they saying? Time for a fresh look at things?
After the NHS came up with nothing, i decided i had to get a more sports based opinion & physio. Luckily a local physio was the Spurs physio for 11 from 1975 - i thought that should be relevant experience!
Chiropadist/podiatrist is booked for next thursday afternoon which will bring the cost up to £100 so far......
thats without the orthotics - if thats what she decides from the scans, and 6 weeks of accupunture (which will be about £210 alone)
Would be nice if someone would offer me a job right now, but as the lady who called the other day to arrange an interview said she was "a little concerned" about my work experience, i doubt it will be that job.
I've been seen by a physio already: this is why they gave me insoles. I saw an orthopedic doctor and then a physio and then got insoles given. The orthopedic doctor and physio both said shin splints although 'shin splints' is a vague term to cover many types of shin pain, the most common being medial or anterior shin pain, mine though is posterior tibial pain. Hurts to press, hurts to walk, any impact hurts, resting, yes but I only gotta walk down a flight of stairs and its sparked up again! I live at the top of several flights of stairs on the top of a very tall hill. Flat level pavements are not an option even when you include only using public transport
Have you looked into training colleges? they often offer lower cost physios which may take a little longer but do tend to be more affordable. If your struggling to afford it all it could be another option to think about.
i've given up on struggling to afford - will just mean that things won't be affordable in the future. Life savings are just taking a bit of a battering.
Have you told the physio & Dr that you are still in pain?
having had several unintentional dismounts from horses over the years resulting in a spectacular array of rather serious breaks and joint injuries
if you want a decent physio you need to see a sports physio, the NHS ones are only really for getting you back on your feet so to speak, returning you to a sort of functioning human being again. imho if you want to get back to pounding pavements and a good level of mobility you definitely need to see a sports physio.
I forgot i meant to let you know how i got on with my physio.
So far i have seen the physio twice & also a podiatrist in between. The first assessment session he did acupuncture and sent me to the podiatrist.
foot scans with her showed a need for insoles (& also showed why i wore the outside of my heels down as a kid - i used to go through a pair of shoes a term almost!)
Anyway went back to physio the next week got some off the shelf insoles (yay to saving money by being able to have the off the shelf ones!), then he did some electro therapy - basically ran a current between a point on my ankle & one just below my knee, so the current ran along the insdie of my shin. After that he did more accupuncture (3 needles in each leg along the shin).
So far i have had little - almost no pain - along the inside of my shins - only issue is where my feet have been landing wrongly now, my big toes curl up (where as the rest of my toes are flat to the floor) . the podiatrist did ask me if i had any pain in my big toes - i didn't - but i do now, in fact a lot by the end of a Combat class - so much so that my toes are going numb. Starting to worry that the impact is going to break my big toes like the podiatrist mentioned. Will mention it to the physio on wednesday.
So from my experience the accupuncture has certainly helped settle the current inflammation.