cartilage/lump on shin - massage?

[gabbah]

Does it help to massage the lump of cartilage I have on my shin? It hurts when I kick the heavy bag and hit that spot.
It's a bit sore when I massage it. I was told that it can be massaged to heal, so that the cartialge is spread out or something?
Any experiences?

[JIMI]

Hmmm never heard of something like that before. I have heard of people chipping the bone and having splinters stuck in there before, but not cartilage. Have you consulted a doctor? Maybe it would be quicker and easier to have it removed?? Dunno on this one....

[Garland]

just a lump? if it's a raised bump on your shin, chances are it's probably a calcium deposit...just buy some sports cream, should help a little, see a doctor anyway...if they say it's cool, just coninute tosmack the bag light for awhile until the pain goes away. I had something like that...this may sound weird, but check up by your hip bones, run your fingers along the bottom of the illiac crest, for enflamed lymphnodes. My doctor tells me that it's a common problem for rugby and soccer players...if you've got the bump, and the enflamed lymphnodes, it's lymphodema, they'll give you some meds, and you'll be chill...I wouldn't worry too much about it, worst case scenario it's some sort of trauma problem with the shin bone...and probably nothing bad enough to warrant invasive surgery....just my opinion...

[gabbah]

Yeah it's a raised bump. I've had it for many months. It hurts less than before but if I smack the bag on that spot it really hurts.

[deltron3030]

I've had pains like that too... I don't believe it's a calcium deposit, but simply a bad bruise or blood vesal rupture. I had pains like this when I first started hitting the heavy bag. Basically, I just took a break from kicking for a week or so, however long it took to get back to normal. From my experience, this type of injury is common... and many fighters i've trained with just train through the pain.

If the injury persists, and if it isn't far better after a week or rest, I highly recommend seeing a doctor.

[pittbulldog]

Lump

A deep rub with Thai Oil should help it. Try some ice also.

[gabbah]

I've had this problem for several months. Tried resting it, but it doesn't seem to help, it still hurt when I kick and hit the bump.
I'm pretty sure it's cartilage.
I've been massaging/rubbing it every day for a week. Haven't noticed any change.
Someone told me to try to warm up the cartilage and then rub it out. And now you say use cold.. I'm getting confused

What effect does thai oil have? Is it anything like tiger balm? I've started using that now...

[deltron3030]

go see your doctor, he/she will tell you exactly what to do. In my opinion it's been around too long, and should be looked at by a professional. Make your appointment today.

[eXcessiveForce]

sounds like a bone bruise and possible stress fracture or chip. They can take months and months to heal. If you are kicking with it you are agrivating it. This can lead to other problems like tendonitis.

I used to wear shin gaurds while kicking until they went away then the gaurds came off until I needed the shins to heal again.

Often it would take 6 months or more for a really bad one, Usually got these from clashing shin to knee or shin to strong object like steel bar. Afterwards it usually leaves a lump but the pain subsides.

Check it out with a doctor though, What usually occurs doesn't always mean that is what it is. Could turn out to be bone cancer or some stuff like that and then you would be kicking yourself for not getting it checked out.

[kckbxblnd]

ouch

Honestly you need to get it looked at right away (as everyone else has said!) Because it could be cancerous--*knock on wood*. Anyway, thai oil is a topical oil to rub onto an injury. The special thing about it is that it has asprin in it, so the asprin dissolves into the skin right away creating a tingling sensation (which feels good on the injury). Any good luck and keep us updated on the lump

[gabbah]

hmm yeah maybe I should check it out. But it doesn't hurt that much, that's why I haven't worried. It's not that big either, you can barely see the shin raise a bit, and if you run your finger along it you can feel the bump.
So can you get thai oil at the pharmacy or what?

[Garland]

Honestly you need to get it looked at right away (as everyone else has said!) Because it could be cancerous--*knock on wood*. Anyway, thai oil is a topical oil to rub onto an injury. The special thing about it is that it has asprin in it, so the asprin dissolves into the skin right away creating a tingling sensation (which feels good on the injury). Any good luck and keep us updated on the lump

I thought the boxing liniment was mostly camphor and menthol...
I'd highly, HIGHLY doubt that it would be cancerous, considering that it arose out of repetitive trauma to the shin due to training...it's probably the same type of thing as when you get hit in the head and a bump swells up and sticks around for awhile...because it's on your shin, and you kick with your shin, chances are you might aggravte it more than you realize...also the shin takes awhile to heal...it's painful because the shin doesn't have much muscle around it, especially if you're not used to kicking with it...it's just bone and nerves. Ice should reduce the swelling, so would sports cream, help ease the pain...yada yada, common sense.

[silapathai]

Hahahahaha

I can't believe how freaked out some of you are getting over this! This is a common injury in Muay Thai and has happened to me and most people that I know that do muay thai at one time or another(usually within the first year or two). I had a "soft spot" on my shin and massaged it and used thai liniment and just took it easy on that shin for a while..honestly, I think it took a few months for it to heal up. I would do what the author of this thread was told and massage it over and over to try to "spread it out".
I never heard about lymphodema and this could be the cause of it so I would check on that to and see a doctor if you have those symptoms. If you're freaked out, go see a doctor but I'm telling you this is more than likely similar to busting one's knuckles. Not much you can do about it...

[eXcessiveForce]

You are probably right,

I figure it's a bone bruise like we all get. But when someone gets on saying how they have pain and its lasted a long time and it's not going away you try to cover your bases.

Usually my instructors would look at it and the usual response is "fight now hurt later"

The problem on here is you cannot assume people have adequate knowledge of their body, condition or degree of damage. Nor can you assume that their instructors have that knowledge.

At my school we would have checked it and probably told him to lay off for a bit, massage it, protect it if need be. And in the mean time work on foot work and hands.

Recently I lost my hearing in 1 ear. Didn't think much of it, after a month went to the doctor, he gave me pills figured it would clear up. It didn't, a month later I had a large tumor cut out of my head. Never saw that one coming. So sometimes it pays to get things checked out.

[gabbah]

Yeah I think silapathai is right.
It doesn't hurt that much now so it's slowly getting better. It may be that it took so long because I sometimes kicked the bag anyway... dammit how can you go several month without kicking the bag with your back leg?? :/ I love kicking, so I thought I could avoid the sore spot on the shin, but of course, sometimes I hit it anyway and then it would hurt.

I assumed it is a very common injury among thai fighters, but nobody at my club seemed to have the right experince so they didn't tell me that it was the case.
That's why I asked here.

So do I need to massage/rub it hard or soft? Right now I'm massaging it with a force so that I feel a little pain at the sore spot. So that's like medium hard.