chronic shin pain

[mjmb55]

my teenage daughter (a competitive gymnast) has been suffering pain in her left shin area for two years without any reprise.  at first it was diagnose as shin splints and that it would go away.  after a time, it was recommended for her to go thru physical therapy, we did this for mutiple sessions over a period of 1.5 year (in between, we've had x-ray, bone scan, mri, the result was she may have had a stress fracture at one point but no other apparent damage, recommendation was rest.  we pull her out of gymnastic for eight months, she's still suffering from pain, just a slight touch in the tender area and she'll flinch.  our latest grasp was a trip down to john hopkins, the doctor viewd the x-rays and readings from previous scan and mri (which by now is over a year old), told us that she's still in the growing stage and that within a year, she will stop growing and her bone will get stronger.  our family doctor pretty much given up on us about a year ago, so we're pretty much on our own to find a resolution.  is there any other test that we can go through?

thank you in advance for any assistance that i may get.

[star queen]

It sounds like your daughter has shin splints.  That is pain in the front, back or side of the lower leg after strenuous or repetitive exercise.  It is mostly associated with faulty foot mechanics but can be caused by ischemia of the muscles in the foot compartments.  Proper shoes and foot orthotics may help.  Pain management is ice packs, anti-inflammatory meds, decrease in exercise and avoidance of inclines.  See an orthopedist for proper diagnoses and treatment options for her.  The official name is "medial tibial syndrome".  Go to Ask.com search engine and input the above.  Lots of info there.-

[hyepod]

I'm sure that this was already addressed during physical therapy sessions, but does she stretch her gastrocnemius/soleus (back of the calf) muscles thoroughly?  Some people theorize that a tight gastroc will force the muscles in the front of the leg to work too hard to lift the foot upward during each step.  

Hyepod (podiatrist)