Hugs, Claire - you are making progress. Looks like you increased your distance over a mile from your 2nd recovery run? Maybe back down to your last run until you can do it without limping after? But you know, I have trouble following advice like that too! Does your leg hurt just over the injured area or is it more general? I'm wondering how similar our injuries are - althoughI got mine with WAY less effort than yours

Mine is the right leg also.I basically have pain about as wide as my thumb 3" above the top of my ankle bone. It's on the inside, and on the underside edge of the bone. My right lower leg feels somewhat tight - but the muscle tone is great and I have full range of motion, I can even walk on my toes! If I get too carried away "testing" it for soreness - it will throb - just that 1 spot. In fact, sometimes I wake up with it throbbing BUT - I have no trouble with low impact exercise. I have tried aggressive walking twice at 3 day intervals - both times no real problems during, but the night of - definitely an increase in pain. I can see a lump on my leg, and feel swelling that does not appear to be fluid. It will be interesting to see the bone scan(tomorrow- finally). I don't really want a nuclear study - but I,too, am having problems with my insurance. They deemed my last injury a "chronic" condition(dx unspecified soft tissue injury) and I was left with a rather large bill as they only paid for the 1st 2 of 3 months. Now they are telling me that this is the same chronic condition(even tho different area of same leg) and have so far denied any payments. So you see, it's really important for me to get a specific diagnosis this time. I am really happy for you that the extra day helped! Starting slow must be so frustrating when you really want to get back out there and do a "regular" run. I watched "Flicka" - a horse movie last night. I was so envious of those horses running through the fields! They were so graceful and powerful - yes, I was even admiring their rippling muscles I must have been talkiing alot about running like horses ,because DH says - "yeah, but even horses get injured sometimes"

Claire, You have to ease back into it. Just because you got the go ahead doesn't mean you're completely healed. Just be thankful that you're on the road to recovery and that you'll be doing crazy running soon enough. Please don't do too much too soon!

Well i wish I had come back to this thread before todays run because it went pretty pear shaped this morning. My leg didn't cope at all running two days in a row and I am back to the stabbing pains and pins and needles. I also have my limp back. I am devestated. Shattered. I tried to stretch after I returned but my right leg couldn't support my weight and I sat on the porch crying for every step I couldn't run. I have pyhsio again in two days and she said yesterday that if I have these symptoms again then they will look at referring me for a bone scan to evaluate the bone. She also said that the pins and needles would underline the stress fracture diagnosis. This sucks. Claire xxx

Look on the bright side, they know what's wrong with you, and it can be fixed. Granted it might take longer but in a year, it would be just another non-episode. Cheer up! You'll be back to running soon enough. If not, at least you'll have a team of doctors, nurses and physical therapists offering their services to you

Progress report... Yesterday at physio I was told that I couldn't run for the foreseeable future. Tomorrow I have been injured for 9 weeks and I have had only minor improvement that degrades rapidly on return to running. New shoes and two months rest haven't helped. They didn't give me a bone scan early on because they decided to go the route of treating a stress fracture anyhow and to keep testing my leg to see if I could return to running. I had the full 8 weeks rest and treatments and it hasn't worked so today we start the next step. I have been referred to the orthopaedic surgeon where I get the bone scan and hopefully, I come away with a plan of action. The pyhsio is concerned that my leg is in worse shape than we thought. I may have a very bad fracture. Who knows. Maybe i don't have a fracture at all and they will find something else in their investigations. Maybe I heal poorly because of my blood condition. Maybe my bone density was poor as I only gave up breast feeding 6 weeks before I launched my running program. At the very least I am hoping for some answers. As part of the process I have to get an x-ray done today (seems stupid as both the physio and I know it doesn't mean Jack) - and then it's a waiing game. Waiting for the appointments, waiting for the healing, waiting for permission to run. I will also have my blood platelet levels monitored closely from this point just in case treatments are necessary, so I will have my levels checked today. My first block of free pyhsio has finished so they have applied for a second block for me. Unfortunately I am back at physio today for an entirely different injury. My neck went, rather amusingly during some night time activities, and I have a referral for that. Seriously, I didn't know what to write on the form when it asked 'How did the injury happen?'. The physio was really sweet. She said 'Just put that you picked up your child and strained it.' I wouldn't be surprised if NZ revoked my citizenship. In the last 18 months I have had to have free physio for my neck twice, my knee once, my leg twice, my hand after an operation and I have developed a rare and complicated blood disorder where I need just about every specialist they can find. I also have a podiatrist and a sports shoe analyst. It's all about ME! On the whole I am totally depressed about the running thing. The running world won't shake me off that easily though. I feel like the man in the Guiness commercial. Oh how she waits... Claire xxx

No, it's all about ME. Me, me, ME! Sorry to hear that not getting any better. Technically, you are getting better, except you are in worse shape than anyone had anticipated. Misery loves company, and we're in this together! Speaking of which, I had to give up a chance to run in this year's Boston Marathon. I had the invitation in my hands. I felt how thick and heavy it was. In the end, I have to give it back to the one that got it for me because I'm too injured to do it. How's that for disappointment. Cheryl: what's a bone stimulator?