PERIOSTITIS
What is osteomyelitis?
The medical term for osteomyelitis is periostitis and in English it is called shin splint. All skeletons are covered by a bone membrane and which is sensitive to pain. It is now believed that this problem is a stress reaction / overload of the tibia on the tibia and not an inflammation as the name suggests.
This diagnosis causes pain, especially in the front / inside of the tibia. This usually occurs in connection with brisk walking or running, when you have increased length, intensity, changed surfaces or if you start / resume running training or walking. It is easier to get this problem if you have high or low arches. Stiffness in the calf muscles can also be an underlying cause of this problem.
Symptoms of osteomyelitis
Pain front lower leg when running and walking. In the beginning, the pain often comes after the run or walk. If the discomfort worsens, there is usually pain even during the activity. The legs can be experienced as stiff when you have to get started and walk after sitting for a while. You are also pressure sore on the front, inside the tibia. There is a suspicion that osteomyelitis may be a precursor to stress fracture. In other words, there is good reason not to ignore the pain.
Treatment of osteomyelitis
First, we recommend that the patient refrains from running and brisk walking and instead trains things that do not load the lower legs with shocks, such as strength training, cycling or swimming. Our physiotherapists examine foot posture and mobility in the foot and knee joints. We can develop anatomical shoe insoles to support a possible misalignment of the foot or ankle. In osteomyelitis, we put up an escalation rehabilitation training with a focus on stabilization and mobility training for feet and lower legs. An alternative is that we make one medical running analysis to be able to optimize the running step if necessary. At Alta Vita Physiotherapy we also have the opportunity to treat with shock wave treatment, which is a good option to reduce the pain and speed up healing in the area.
Forecast
The forecast is good. In 2-3 months, most people get well, provided that you do not happen to trigger the problems with premature return to running or walking. If the problems are severe and long-lasting, an operation may need to be performed.
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Differential diagnoses
Other causes of pain in the lower leg can be compartment syndrome, stress fracture of the tibia or nerve impact that triggers discomfort in this area.
