Monday, March 06, 2006

Bone scan update

Went for the bone scan follow up today. The results were:

  • No stress fracture. (Yaaaay!)
  • No swelling of the lining of the bone. (Yaaaay!)
  • No other "really nasty stuff". (Big sigh of relief...)
What the scan did show was "focal hyperemia and bone reaction at the proximal tibiofibular joint bilaterally, probably due to stress". So in other words, the bones on both lower legs, up near the knees, are trying to repair themselves.

But the exact cause why they are trying to repair themselves is still unknown.

The doctor did look at my legs and saw the swelling in the lower right leg himself. His reaction was the same as my physio guy's, "Well... that's weird."

You gotta love it when specialists use words like "weird".

He did go on to say that it is "probably some variation of normal" and might be soft tissue damage.

He explained that the muscles are covered in a tissue that acts sort of like Saran Wrap. If it tears, that can cause swelling and pain. But he's not sure that's what it is. What will tell us is an ultra sound. So... that's next.

The swelling in my lower leg may or may not be a different issue than what is going on with my bones trying to repair themselves. But the bottom line for now is... sigh... you guessed it... No running.

Damn!

At least it is not all in my head. And I am very thankful that it is not something "serious". My job now is to be patient, continue strength training, do other activities that do not aggravate it and ... did I mention be patient?

And we all know that I'm so good at being patient (smirk)!

10 comments:

Turtle Guy said...

Great news! Also, you are far more patient than you perhaps see yourself. Remember what you said about the Turtle winning the race!

Backofpack said...

My husband, Eric, was trying to run the Tahoe Triple last October. The Triple is three marathons in three consecutive days that eventually take you all the way around Lake Tahoe.

Anyway, at the end of the second day his left shin hurt and he was limping. It got worse during the night, showing bruising and swelling all the way up the shin and he could barely walk. So he pulled out of day three and we continued our trip with him on crutches. They thought for sure it was a stress fracture, but both the xray and bone scan eliminated that, but did show "hot" spots (I think that's those healing spots you spoke of). Anyway, the conclusion was a soft tissue injury, probably tearing tissue away from the bone. Yuk. It cost him about six weeks...but now he's back at it!

I'm glad it was none of the scary things, and hopeful that they find out what it is soon for you. Good luck!

D said...

gotta love those frozen pea bags! This news is positive. At least you are getting to the bottom of this injury and have been able to eliminate a stress fractures from the possibilities. I know all too well about the amount of patience that is required in these circumstances. You are allowed to scream out loud once in a while, however!

onepinkfuzzy said...

yay - glad you got answers! boo - no running!

ipodmomma said...

patience is one of those lessons we learn when we'd rather be doing other things...

like running.

thinking of you, and glad it's not a serious thing. just 'weird'... :)))

psbowe said...

So sorry about no running, but still you got great news at the same time!

kt said...

does it seem like forever to you? i mean, hasn't it already been longer than 6 wks? for me, this seems an eternity. it's cccrazy.
i'm glad it wasn't a stress fracture. it's like, you've done your time, you could just run as soon as you don't feel pain.

BUT WILL THAT DAY COME?

i have a lot of pain, localized, in that one area. my diff.from you is there is no swelling. (or if it is, it's disguised as fat, for which reason NO DOC is ever gonna say, "hmm that's weird!" they also won't admit it's fat. i think they don't want 2 discourage me. since i go in and say "I'm Running," they only say positive things and nothing like, "LOSE SOME WEIGHT, DUMMY!" which, of course, is nice.....but i digress)
i know that's not YOUR problemo since you've LOST WEIGHT and you are a skinny thang now! good for you!
i'm glad you have the running bug. i'm glad you have the use of a gym and ... BONUS: a personal trainer. that and walking or swimming or biking will do you for cardio in the meanwhile.

i wish i had that opportunity. but i'm not complaining. just wishing.

=) can't wait to hear about ultrasound. WHEN?????

Janice Seagraves said...

Hang in there!

Madcap said...

Chive took a massage class in fascia work a couple of years ago. You might want to look into finding a therapist with a specialty in that. It's an extremely slow, slow, gentle kind of "holding" massage, so I doubt it would interfere with anything else.

wthenrest said...

ahhhh specialists...why are they called that... they should be called 'you just spent twice the money on no answer.'
Can I make that into an acronym?
YJSTTMONA mmm thatisn't working
Ah well, it was a worth a try.
No news is still godd news. I am glad to hear it.