Delayed Progress

Well, I haven't run since last Thursday, though I have walked twice for over an hour. The reason for my hiatus is a possible injury that I didn't want to aggravate. It began on Sunday 9/13, and hasn't really gotten any better since then (largely because I didn't take a break from forms of cardio that require bearing weight on feet - though I did reduce frequency-previously I would alternate running days and walk on my off days). The sensation isn't horrendous pain. It's as if there's a marble that I'm stepping on, and it's at the intersection of the ball of my foot and my 2nd/3rd toe (the forefoot). It doesn't really bother me during a walk or a run, but when I get home and take off my shoes it hurts enough that I won't put weight on that part of my foot. The tissue on the bottom of the foot in that area gets swollen, but there's no sign of a bruise. The last few times I've simply iced and elevated it afterwards.

After researching bottom of foot pain, nothing seemed to jump out at me. But as I kept reading and consulted with my family nurse (aka Mom), I decided to go to the doctor on the off chance I have a stress fracture. Some of the symptoms seemed to fit, and I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Here's what I know about stress fractures:

1. They're caused from overuse, and are a common affliction among runners (especially new runners and those who increase mileage too quickly).
2. May or may not be recognized, as they're sometimes not even painful
3. May sometimes not be identified on an x-ray
4. Pain is typically worse after activity and lessens with rest.
   

So today I went to see the doctor (general practitioner). As it happens, the doctor I saw is also a runner - farther along than me, though. She's actually run a couple of half-marathons. She didn't notice anything upon examining my foot, but she sent me for an x-ray just to check things out.

Her nurse called me this evening and the verdict was...no stress fracture. Monitor your symptoms, use ice after activities, and get fitted at a running store for a pair of running shoes. And if it's still occurring in 3-4 weeks, she wants to see me again. So, my initial reaction was "great, no stress fracture!" Followed by "...but she did say that stress fractures can't always be seen on x-rays...so shouldn't she have either recommended a better scan (CT or MRI) and/or said to limit activity?"

I have decent running shoes. And I understand her point about avoiding injuries and having decent shoes. But this is not the type of injury that is caused by bad shoes. And my shoes aren't bad anyway. I have two pair and both are running shoes (and when I walk I walk in still different shoes). They have decent cushioning in the forefoot area, and neither pair is horribly old - one is about 4 weeks old and the other pair is about a year old, but they haven't been worn a lot. Something is out of place (or at least it certainly feels like it when I stand up).

So I'm not very satisfied. I guess I'll go back to my original plan - though a bit delayed - and hope it doesn't get worse, and go back in a few weeks. It's not bad enough that I feel comfortable pushing for a specialist or more detailed scan. Though I do have my doubts.