Weird bone pain? (Should I go to a doctor?)

Ok so I am entirely capable of going to the university clinic if warranted, but I don't know if this is bad enough that a doctor is necessary (and I'm reeeeeally anxious about going in and being told "you're overreacting, lose weight fatty"). Help me decide, if you have any advice or experience?

I've been having serious throbbing pain in my shins (front of the lower leg, sudden onset, doesn't feel like sore muscle) after walking a long distance. It's much more likely to happen if I'm speed-walking than going slow but it can happen either way. The pain slowly goes away only after I sit down and take the weight off my legs for several minutes. Massaging the area helps a little bit after I sit down.

Stuff I found on Google says "shin splints from over training athletes and runners" but I haven't increased my walking or changed my routine lately and I'm definitely not a runner. My asthma is especially bad in winter so that just walking in below freezing weather sets me off.

I can walk through the pain but it is majorly uncomfortable and there's really nothing I can do to rest my legs/decrease my walking because I need to walk to and from campus and between buildings for classes and I average between 2 and 4 miles/day.

 

Shin splints can also come just from not stretching before walking or walking slightly too much for the arcane machinations of your body. What you're describing definitely sounds like them though.

The best thing would be to look up some ankle and calf stretches and do them before you have to head out-- that should reduce how often you get them. The cold might be making your muscles tense too, and that could be why you're getting them now.

(I used to get them ALL THE TIME because I pace, but stretches really do help. They're not too hard or intensive either, so you can pretty easily do them in the mornings as you get ready.)