I'm a 15 year old girl running cross country in high school. I train at a high elevation (about 7,000 feet) and I run about 30 miles a week. I have had shin splints for three consecutive seasons now (2 xc seasons and 1 track season) and this season they are worse than they have ever been. I am one of the top runners on my team and I really don't want to get injured because I would like to run at state.
I know that none of you can diagnose this as a stress fracture, but I would like your opinions and personal experiences. I pronate in both legs (mostly my left), which is why I have shin splints. I have in soles and I have tried many different types of shoes, but nothing fixed my pronation. I also wear 2XU compression sleeves when I run. When I get home from practice, I ice with ice in Dixie cups and most days I massage my shins and calves with a mixture of bergamot oil, coconut oil, and peppermint oil.
Over the past week, I have noticed a dramatic increase in my pain (I wasn't able to finish the workout one day) even with cross training on a bike or elliptical twice a week. It hurts when I run, when I walk, and sometimes at rest, and sometimes it hurts more than others. I have also noticed that it has stopped hurting everywhere and instead hurts in a specific point in each leg, which is a major reason I think I might have a stress fracture. It only hurts when I press fairly hard though. When I run, it feels more like it is radiating more than in a very specific point, but it is a sharp pain that doesn't really get better throughout the workout and it hurts a lot worse after I run. I had a meet this weekend and it didn't really hurt while I ran, which was weird because it usually does, but it hurt pretty bad to walk after. I'm thinking about getting an MRI soon, but I wanted a second opinion on whether this sounds like a stress fracture.
Thank you to anyone who read the whole thing, I know this was a long post, but I was trying to provide as much information as possible. I would really appreciate any feedback. Thank you and have a good day :)