Thread: Tibialis anterior hernia - AKA shin hernia

Question for all members to rack their brains over...

I have had a lump that appears and disappears on my outer shin for a few years (look at your right leg, half way down the shin front, then move your eyes to right where the shin ends and the calf muscle meets). It does not "hurt" as such, but it is very tender and extremely uncomfortable.

When i apply pressure or do training, a lump appears on the shin, and gets bigger the more we work the leg out. My right leg gets stiff and aches about an hour before my left leg begins to slow down.

Went to the doctor a few years back - he spent 30 seconds looking at it, laughed it off and acted like i was wasting his time - so i thought nothing more of it and felt like abit of a knob. Recently a friend of mine went to america to train for a few months and he met someone with the exact same thing i have on my leg. Apparently it is a hernia of Tibialis anterior (which is the muscle that comes down the shin front)

Now it may sound like i already know what the problem is BUT the issue i have is..ALL the doctors i have been to see about it know NOTHING about Tibialis anterior hernias, dont know what the best course of action for me should be and all in all..i am at a dead end with what to do. I need to get it sorted out, not for cosmetic purposes, but for actual physical performance reasons. Doctors have been in touch with various sports physios, hospital staff etc etc but nobody know anything about it.

SO the final question is - has anybody had this/got this and if so - what course of actions did you take??

Sorry for the long winded post but the internet seems to have nothing on it of any use to do with this so im searching for people who have the same ugly looking shin as me haha

Cheers all !

Hi,

I was a professional ballet dancer and have 5 hernias that appear as bulges on my left shin. I have seen doctors and they told me that my options were to make an incision near each bulge and cover the tear in the fascia with a mesh like substance, OR to completely repair the entire fascia (not recommended!)

I have not done either one to date but I just developed another HUGE (walnut shell size) bulge and the pain has now become excruciating. I am making an appointment with another sports medicine doctor and hopefully there have been some advances since I last spoke with my doctor. I will post here if there is more information of any use.

Good luck. I know how painful these are and how frustrating and depressing it is not be be able to exercise when you are athletic!

Suzanne