[herring]

#1059646

Hi, just wondering if anyone knows of any links between any sports injuries and Graves Disease. I danced for about 7 years before getting GD but got shin splints for the very first time when I went back to dancing after the GD was more under control. A podiatrist I saw for the shin splints happened to mention that the graves disease could have caused them because exercise + graves disease could cause some kind of reaction/activation involving the bone. Has anyone heard anything like this before? None of my other doctors mentioned it but I will be asking when I go back to my GP next month.

Its got me a bit worried because the type of dance is very high impact and I need strong bones to do it 😮

[gatorgirly]

#1176495

Hmm, I have no insight to offer but I’d be very interested in hearing what you find out. I started running over the summer but was quickly sidelined with shin splints (posterior, to be exact). I never even thought about a link between Graves’ and shin splints – I’ve tried really hard to not instantly blame Graves’ for every ailment I have.

I picked back up recently and felt it on only my second run last week, but I purchased some kinesio tape and will try that tomorrow before my next run. On a personal note, I tend not to trust podiatrists as they aren’t MDs/DOs. I was thinking of calling up my old orthopedic surgeon if this persists – I had knee surgery in 2005. Have you considered seeing an orthopedist?

[Kimberly]

#1176496

Hello – Certainly, hyperthyroidism can lead to bone/muscle wasting, so it’s especially important to ease slowly back into exercise once a doctor gives the green light to resume activity. But I’ve not seen any studies specifically on shin splints, so it will be interesting to see if even more people respond with similar stories!

[herring]

#1176497

My GP had referred me to a sports physio who referred me to the podiatrist. I was a bit surprised by the referral but apparently its a standard check for shin splints – they took footage of me walking and just checked out my legs and feet physically and sent a letter with the info back to my other doctors, they didn’t actually recommend much, and just mentioned this link in passing. I have been trying to ask my GP about bone problems/wasting – I’m also lactose intolerant and vitamin D deficient so I’m sure I wasn’t doing too well anyway – but she doesn’t seem to think its a big issue, I’ll have to keep pushing it.

I’ve been trying to google but not much has come up. Maybe I’ll get onto my uni database to see if I can find anything.

[Bobbi]

#1176498

I tried to do research long, long ago about the muscle issues with Graves. it appeared from what I read, that while hyperthyroid, the muscle biochemistry was different than normal, and that this could lead to problems if the individual exercised too much too soon. That included things like shin splints.

[herring]

#1176499

Well, I definitely had a lot of muscle wasting when it first developed, but when I talked to my doctor recently about bone/muscle issues she said that since my levels are all in the normal range (on medication) it’s basically like I don’t have the disease anymore so I wouldn’t have any current problems from the disease, including the muscle things. Is that true?

[Bobbi]

#1176500

I think that when our thyroid hormone levels get back into controlled normal — by whatever means — the muscles heal….OVER TIME. An endo at one of our earliest conferences told us that the lost muscle slowly returns (whether “all” of it returns or not, I don’t know), but that it is “mushy” muscle. I.e., it needs to be restrengthened, retrained. So, think about things from the standpoint of someone who has been seriously ill for months, who has not been able to exercise. You need to slowly test out the limitations of your current state, and work from there. Going back to exercise, full bore, that you did before you got sick will likely cause muscle strains if not sprains and tears. You need to rebuild strength and stamina. I had an evaluation by an exercise physiologist at a local out-patient physical therapy/health club run by the local hospital when I got my hormone levels back to normal. That fellow told me that I had, at that time, approximately 8% (yes, EIGHT) of the strength of an average other woman my age. So, if you think about it, if I had tried to do what the average woman my age would be able to do at that point in time, I would be overworking my muscle condition. In order to do 15 reps with a weight on my biceps, at that point in time, I could only use paperback books as “weights.” Now you may not be anywhere nearly as impacted as I was, but you need to find out by slowly testing your limits and rebuilding from where you are, not from where you WERE before you got ill.

[Khadijah]

#1176501

I think it is just the muscle waste from being sick. Therfore, whatever is your vulnerable spot whether you know it or not, gets hit hardest. I also dance and it’s been hard getting back in shape. I have in the past suffered from shin spoints so…

First make sure you stretch them every day after waking up and before bed. The best is the one where you put your foor up against the wall. Wear the boot at night while you recover from the shin splints. Make sure your shoes/sneakers are not too old.

But yes, I too am dealing with the aftermath of muscle waste!

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