March 2009 - participated in a jam and over-trained
Days later, had pain in shin that did not seem to be muscular
Took two weeks off, pain subsided
Went out for a light PK workout and re-aggravated the injury pretty quickly
Suspected a stress fracture at this point and decided to finally see a doctor
Got an MRI and was diagnosed with a "stress reaction" in the distal third of the tibia
Followed ortho's treatment of 4 weeks in an Aircast boot
Did some jogging after that and felt good for the most part
Some sessions resulted in soreness and I just rested a week and then tried again and took it easier the next time around
After another month, I did some PK training
Felt great during the session, but soreness returned within 2 days
I took some more time off and then tried some jogging again
This time the running aggravated my shin injury within hours
I've not done any running since for the most part

This September, I purchased squat stands and started doing squats regularly
These did not aggravate the injury
Started doing deadlifts again a week or two ago
Deadlifts with my 5 rep max resulted in soreness within a day

It's been nearly 8 months now and I'm very frustrated at this point
I had been doing Parkour for about 2 years before the original injury and have been doing shin strengthening exercises at least several times per week since I began practicing PK
I have a lean body type, so my weight would not be an issue
I foam roll my legs and shins regularly and have recently started to focus on flexibility training on a regular basis
Poor warm ups might be an issue but I feel like there's something more than that going on here

My ortho does not want to me to pay for any more advanced imaging or do any more casting
He believes I might have some slight over-pronation issues with my feet and prescribed me orthotics
I know orthotics aren't a popular choice on these boards, but do you think these are worth trying?
I don't want to become dependent on a crutch if I can correct the issue naturally, but it's been so long that I'm open to anything at this point

I've seen recommendations for Chiropractics and PTs on here a lot and I've never been to either
I'm open to seeing one, but I could use some advice in finding one that can legitimately help me out... not looking to get ripped off
I'm in Philadelphia, PA, if anybody local has recommendations

Thanks!

Maybe its because I am bias toward my own profession, but I would recommend seeing a PT as opposed to a chiropractor since PTs are typically more trained to look beyond the spine and pelvis, but there are great chiropractors out there that could provide great treatment. I did notice that your e-mail is at Temple and that you are located in Philadelphia. I happen to work north of Philadelphia in Langhorne, PA (about 20 minutes) if you would care to come by the clinic, I know it is a hike. Please contact me if you are interested. Now, back to the injury...

If I may ask, where in your shin does it hurt? (front, inside, outside, back, etc.) Because depending on the location it may be different things that are resulting in the pain. Second, is the pain sharp, dull, achey, feels like sore muscles, like someone struck a match on you, etc.? And, is there are particular area you can touch that can mimic the pain you get after running or dead lifts?

If you do have pronated feet, then I would recommend a good running shoe first before spending the money on orthotics. Running shoes are designed for support of different types of feet with the greatest cushioning and support.

Hope that some of this information is helpful and I wish you a speedy recovery.

Can count out flat feet
Definitely a decent arch

Will try the foot drills, thanks

Pain is inside at the distal third of the left tibia
No sharp pain at all
Could best describe pain as an ache and I'll feel weak in the area if I tried to jump or anything although there's not really any tender spots that I can elicit pain from through palpation - when I was first injured, I was able to do that

Better running shoes are a good idea when I get back into running, but what about now?
I haven't tried to run in 2 months and deadlifts seem to be what re-aggravated the injury
I'm also able to walk pain free

Tender points not in the anterior tib... also check out the bottom of the foot, calves, and upper leg.