Painful/Burning Shin with no known cause: Ideas?

Posted by clcole @clcole, Jun 8, 2022

Started in January I began to have pain in my right shin when driving. It has progressively gotten worse over the last six months. I cry when I drive. The pain is also keeping me up at night and I can’t stand for longer then ten minutes and walking hurts. No one can figure it out. I had a knee MRI that showed a little damage, a back MRI that said mild bulging of disks. I have tried acupuncture, massage, PT and a chiropractor. Nothing has helped. I can’t do anything and I’m so frustrated and depressed.

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@ginger123

I’ve had ankle and shin pain in both legs for three years. Burns at night. I only wear NewBalance shoes. Anything else will cause horrible nighttime pain. I been to 4 podiatrists, 2 sports med specialists, 3 orthopedists…. I found a podiatrist who finally listened…. He said my pain seems to be caused by the inflamed band that goes across the upper ankle and holds the shin ligaments in place.
He taped one foot for a week to see if I noticed a difference. Wow, yes. Next week I will return, and he will give me an injection, and we’ll go from there.
I’m also on 300 mg of gabapentin per night, that seems to temper the RLS somewhat. Definitely a work in progress.

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Have you tried gaba? I mean don't drive after till you find out if it makes you tired.. . Also I felt emotional for the first week took only 200 mg, because releasing ptsd is what it felt like. Gaba is what the dr gives to release muscle /nerve spasms. I now take a lot of gaba because my nerves need to un -seize if I get stuck buying groceries etc , just something else to try, if dr gives the go ahead. Not sure how it will react with gaba pentin ( biosimilar) though....
Also obviously magnesium and other hydration minerals potassium etc... I don't know what your levels or diet are,
Proper hydration and a good multivitamin might be helpful? (Methylated bs), always ask dr, I don't know your situation

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Oh nice had X-ray, ultrasound and 3 mri. Since I got correct dosages it is a lot better, but at night I still have some pain. However when I wake up it’s gone

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I have those symptoms. It's Stenosis, in my case. Probably yours. Not easy to treat, I hate to tell you, but maybe you will be luckier than I.

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@tabuschlen

Have you tried gaba? I mean don't drive after till you find out if it makes you tired.. . Also I felt emotional for the first week took only 200 mg, because releasing ptsd is what it felt like. Gaba is what the dr gives to release muscle /nerve spasms. I now take a lot of gaba because my nerves need to un -seize if I get stuck buying groceries etc , just something else to try, if dr gives the go ahead. Not sure how it will react with gaba pentin ( biosimilar) though....
Also obviously magnesium and other hydration minerals potassium etc... I don't know what your levels or diet are,
Proper hydration and a good multivitamin might be helpful? (Methylated bs), always ask dr, I don't know your situation

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I’m on 300 mg of gabapentin nightly. Works well so far.
I have to work on hydration….. thanks for writing.

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Hi, I experienced the same burning pain in shins and ankles for years and was given gabapententin which did nothing. I finally got relief from Cymbalta (Duloxetine). Insurance made me try Lyrica before Cymbalta but the Lyrica had no positive results so they approved Cymbalta. As I recall, its use for burning was off label which caused the delay in approval. Hope this helps you. I understand the misery all too well.

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I’ve had shin pain in both legs for the last several years. Had 2 spinal injections that did nothing. Had spinal surgery (laminectomy) that did nothing to relieve the pain. Had a bilateral vascular ultrasound that was normal. Dr wants a emg. Pain only when walking. Pretty much gone at rest. And no back pain! Anyone else get relief from similar symptoms? Thanks

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@annie1

I have those symptoms. It's Stenosis, in my case. Probably yours. Not easy to treat, I hate to tell you, but maybe you will be luckier than I.

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I’m 68 and diagnosed with spinal stenosis. Have severe shin pain only when walking. Had a laminectomy. Did nothing to relieve the shin pain. Surgeon is at a loss to explain why it didn’t work.

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Where did you have the surgery?

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Yes, I’ve had it too since 2024, the burning pain in your shin that keeps you up at night. Sometimes it’s worse after I walk more sometimes walking more makes the pain go away. You have to figure out if it’s coming from your spine or if it’s localized so then you can know how to treat it. In my case, I’m partly sure it originates from my spine because when they did a Cortizone epidural injection in the correct spot of my lumbar root, I got rid of it from the sciatic down to the shin but now it’s back Now I’m gonna try some other methods which require exercising the area locally as the lake has atrophied. Having an EMG will tell you if it’s the nerves or the muscles and then you could know better how to deal with it. I don’t like being on the nerve Medications and so I don’t take them. There is a disorder that is perineal (I think that spelled wrong, but that’s how you pronounce it.) and it is a tightness in the shin muscles and they can fix it by surgery. But you have to determine whether it’s a muscular disorder you’re having or a nerve disorder. So you have to keep pushing the doctors. Sometimes in the middle of the night, I grab my shin and I apply pressure rotating the shin muscles counterclockwise, and I hold it and the pain goes away. I noticed that for most of us, it occurs when we walk and flex our foot. But what we don’t know is where that pain originates. In my case, I think it begins in my spine with nerves that were crushed when my desk fell out. So the nerves have regrown dysfunctional, causing pain because the leg atrophied because of the dirt nerve damage. In my case, I think it’s both the nerve roots exiting the spine (which is why I get relief from the Cortizone injection in my lumbar) and I also think it’s muscular at the shin because the nerves are reactive and because the shin muscles atrophied. Good luck to everyone because I know how painful this is.

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@mk68

I’m 68 and diagnosed with spinal stenosis. Have severe shin pain only when walking. Had a laminectomy. Did nothing to relieve the shin pain. Surgeon is at a loss to explain why it didn’t work.

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Hospital in Green Bay WI

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