Originally Posted by
Dust Devil
You may have covered this with "soft tissue massage", but one possibility is "myofacial release". This often looks like mere massage, but the most effective techniques require far greater force that massage therapists tend to use. I've had pains that massage therapists and chiropractic ART techniques have failed to fix, but have responded to more aggressive use of hard objects digging into my muscle tissues, sometimes leaving bruises.
For calves & shins, I sometimes use a section of 5 inch PVC pipe and try to rest my entire body weight on my calves and move myself back & forth over the pipe. The pain can be excruciating. Long-term pain might take multiple daily treatment for weeks, but sometimes the relief is almost immediate.
Anyway, I've never hear of a case as severe as your acquaintance's being caused by this, but you asked for a bone, so I tossed you one.