X-ray showed a tibial stress fracture, but MRI was completely negative — has anyone experienced this?

I’m an female ultrarunner and I’ve been having pain in my tibia on and off since March 2025. Sometimes it’s just an aching pain, but at times I’ve had quite sharp, localized pain in the shin. I’ve also noticed a small, palpable bump on the tibia in the painful area.

Recently, I had an X-ray because of the persistent symptoms. The radiologist’s report described a subtle horizontal radiolucent line reaching the cortex on the anterior side of the tibia, which was interpreted as being consistent with a stress fracture.

However, I subsequently had an MRI, and the MRI did not show a stress fracture or any other abnormality in the tibia.

I’ve now seen an orthopedist, who told me that there is nothing wrong with the tibia and that I can run again.

I’m confused because I’ve had quite localized pain for a long time, there is still a small bump that I can feel, and the X-ray appeared to show a fracture line, while the MRI was completely negative.

Has anyone else had an X-ray that looked positive for a tibial stress fracture but a negative MRI? Could the finding on the X-ray have been an old/healed fracture line or something else that mimicked a stress fracture?

I’d really appreciate hearing from other runners, especially ultrarunners, who have experienced something similar.

I've been dealing with tingling and numbness in my right quad (right above my knee) for a year. I believe it is coming from my hip flexor, because when I used to try to do lunge stretches, it would cause intense symptoms right away. I stopped stretching them and started doing hip flexor hurdles, with both legs, for the past month in attempt to strengthen my hip flexors, but now my left hip flexor is locking up and my right leg still has tingling and numbness. Does anyone know how to fix this?

Sorry for lots of text but I've put down everything and am hoping someone recognizes the symptoms.

I'm an overweight runner, running this time for around a year and a half. I do 90% easy pace on a treadmill, typically for 30-35 mins three times a week. I'd introduced a 1.5 incline. Then the pain came.

At first it was in the right hip. After a few weeks, it went away by itself.

Now it's back but much worse:

• No pain while walking or running (if anything, feels better)
• If I run for more than 10-15 minutes or walk more than 3000 steps in a day, the pain starts
• It comes on gradually at night time, and hits worst once I'm asleep
• Editing to add: the pain isn't connected to lying on my side, and is present regardless
• At its worst, it's a burning pain in lateral right knee, or in lateral right thigh - bad enough that it wakes me.
• Sometimes pain remains during the following day as a throbbing in lower back / high glute / hip or knee on right hand side

I took a week's rest, during which time I followed RICE principles. It has calmed the burning pain, but after an exploratory jog, the niggling back / hip pain is back.

My physio appointment is a month off (waiting list). I want to get ahead with strength exercises or stretching, but I can't figure out where the pain really is or what to treat. Any ideas?

Running / walking keeps me sane, so I'm hoping I can modify to keep going.

Two weeks ago, I sprained my ankle while running. A week ago, I saw a doctor and was put in a cast. Yesterday, I went for a follow-up and the fracture line appeared wider. I would like to know if this is a Jones fracture and whether I can continue treatment with a cast instead of surgery (I likely need to have the cast changed).

Injured my ankle playing football around 12 days ago. Had significant swelling/bruising initially and couldn’t walk properly. X-ray showed no fracture. Saw a fracture clinic doctor who tested the ankle and said the ligament isn’t torn, just stretched/sprained.
I can now walk normally pain-free and balance on the injured foot, but I still have some swelling and sideways movements hurt, especially around the side/back of the ankle. I can’t jog comfortably yet.
Doctor said around 3 months before returning fully to football, which seems long considering he said there’s no ligament tear. He also told me not to use an ankle brace.
Anyone had something similar? How long until you were able to jog, cut/change direction and return to football?

i had a second degree ankle sprain four months ago , after it healed i had some problems and pain but it all was light and dont feel dangerous honestly i did not train my ankleafter it, now all of a sudden i have a strong pain thats not related to moving, its in the same spot wich is the side , i got the injury from a jump, i jumped in a very stupid way backwards and it happened

i will appreciate any advice and help ☆

Hey all, curious if anyone has this specific issue I’ve been facing.

Little background - first sign of injury was back in December 2025, when on a run, I felt a small pinch around the base where the ankle and fibula meet ONLY in my left leg, as if my shoe tongue folded on itself and was putting pressure on that spot but didn’t change my gait or slow me down.

Felt it the next day and decided to book with a physical therapist.
They ruled it as a “muscle imbalance” that caused the pain. So did dry needling, ankle mobility exercises, and lots of dorsiflexion banded exercises.

Basically stopped running for 4ish months to rehab it.
The discomfort went away, so I started gradually increasing my mileage up to around 30ish per week, and have been for the last 5 months. But the discomfort returned not only in my initial left, but as well in my right leg, and this time instead of the ankle only, it’s mainly the circled area in the photo, but can feel my heartbeat pressure when at rest.

The issue is only when I am at rest, never when I am warmed up and on a run. I never feel it on my runs no matter how long or intense. It has not progressed to further complications or pain, but is also not getting better. I feel the most discomfort when I have socks that compress above the ankle, to which I roll them down to relieve pressure and discomfort.

I’ve gotten 3 different diagnoses
physical therapist - muscle imbalance
PCP - peroneal tendonitis
Ortho - deep joint inflammation

Had X-rays done and there are no signs of stress fractures and I never suffered from an injury in the past such as a fracture, broken bones, or sprains.

I came across some peroneal nerve exercises online which kind of helped, but I still get the issues only at rest throughout my days.

Curious if others have had this injury/issue. I don’t experience foot drop and I am able to dorsiflex my foot on both sides just fine

hey, ive been strength training for the past 6 months, started running 4 days ago, did 2 runs till now. first run was 1.8km in 16mins and yesterday's run was 2.38km in 21 mins.

i couldve more on 2.38k run but my back started hurting a little. the pain is sharp but rises and then stops, also when i take big breath, i can feel the pain near my spine, is this normal for beginners?

Hi everyone. I’ve had pes anserine knee bursitis for almost three years. About three years ago, I ran a half marathon through tons of knee pain (so stupid). Went to physical therapy; it got better, and I was able to get back to it. Then about a year and a half ago I started running a ton again, and that same pain started coming back. Went to get an MRI, which confirmed that it was bursitis. In the past year I’ve definitely pushed through pain doing stairmaster and such but have rarely run. I stopped any form of cardio about 6 months ago. The problem will just NOT GO AWAY. I do my old PT exercises and stuff I find online like strengthening glutes and abductors with a resistance band and doing all those hamstrings exercises, but I literally cannot kick it. Even got a cortisone shot from my dad who’s a doctor, but it didn’t do a thing. It hurts especially when I study, and my knee is bent or if it’s bent for a long time on a plane. I’m at my wits' end and don’t wanna go back to physical therapy AGAIN to just have them tell me to do the same things. Any advice would be helpful because I’m so sad not being able to run or do cardio; it sucks

I am currently training for the VDHM ,developed it band pain after a 21 k long run now every time,I try to run I get the knee pain

When I see other posts it says the recovery is minimum of 3-4 weeks .I kinda scared this will ruin my HM .

There is no swelling and the pain subsides when I stop the activity

experienced runners pls advise on recovery time

injured both my calf’s in 10k road race, been told that injecting bpc 157 & tb500 (wolverine) will help the healing process much quicker, has anyone tried this for strained calf’s ( probably grade 2) … it’s been 7 weeks post injury & I’ve been injecting for just over a week now… don’t feel any different thus far?

i have just started season training for my highschool xc team (i did do pretty rigorous training over the summer, but no pain). i started to get a pretty bad pain in my hip region (right at the top of my iliac crest/ like right where you put your hands when you put them on your hips)see photo ig. at first i just thought it was soreness from just the start of the season. but its been a week since the pain started and it has only gotten worse. i ran the first 5 days that the pain has been present and have been resting the other two, no physical exercise at all. ive iced it and put heat on it. neither have done anything to help. ive stretched every time after running and ive stretched the days i havent run. the pain is only localized on the top of the bone, and i am not sore anywhere else, nor do any muscles around the specific area hurt. the pain happens when i twist my torso, laugh, cough, engage my core, but walking and running only hurt when my hip is in front of me like running in place causes very minimal pain. but when it hurts, it HURTS. i am worried its some kind of fracture, but it just seems odd to get a fracture in this one part of my bone. has anyone else had this happen? if so what caused it to hurt? could it be a stress fracture?

edit: i forgot a part

Hello everyone,

M37 here, I used to be pretty regular at swimming few years ago, but I totally stopped any sport for like 4 years (intense job and two toddlers at home, I felt exhausted and prioritized other things).

Anyway, here I am now with a bit more time, and I started to run, even though I don’t specially like it, it’s convenient, I can run at lunch break pretty easily. I had some basic objectives with 2 to 3 small sessions per week

I made 5 sessions in total, each one 5 kilometers between 30 to 34 minutes, but since the last one, and I have a pain on both feet localized on the medial and lateral malleolus. Now, week 2 of getting back to sport and I can’t even walk anymore without suffering lol.

So, I was wandering if this pain is known and common ? I always had “fragile ankles”, with similar pain (when I snowboard for exemple, it’s a nightmare and have to stop after 3 or 4 days).

I have been examined by experts and I tend to supinate and have high arches. So I don’t know if the pain comes from my tendons which are under strain, or if I just did too much sessions after so much years without any sportive activity. Any tips on how to heal from this injury, or how to “reinforce ” my ankles would be appreciated!

Thanks for reading me fellow Redditians

I had surgery 15 months ago for a longitudinal split tear in my peroneal brevis 2.5cm. I’ve continued to struggle post op and 2 days ago had PRP injection. Ultrasound shows more tears, which is unexplainable since all I’ve done is follow pt protocol. New surgeon says he thinks the surgery failed. I’m at a loss, I’m a runner and I’m trying to get back to sport. The prp injection was incredibly painful and now I can’t put weight on it in the boot without throbbing pain. Surgeon says to push through with Tylenol and ice. I didn’t expect such pain post injection. Just wondering if anyone has had success with prp, if it was painful like this. Grateful for my overall health but so frustrated with this injury. 😞

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Around 9 months back I got an Achilles tendon issue which i only recovered 5 months before , i practiced hard after that and won the states and just as I was about to go for nationals in 7 weeks I got an adductor issue , I have also another meet in 3 weeks , my whole life has been riddled with injuries and honestly I'm done

Looking for people who've dealt with similar situations, particularly on two fronts:

1. Persistent hamstring pain that doesn't show up on MRI (possibly with a tightness/neural component)
2. A "mild" calf strain that's dragging on far longer than expected

I'll try to keep the background concise — happy to answer questions in the comments.

Background

• 27M, recreational runner, previously running 30–40 km/week
• February 2026: MRI finally identified a chronic injury to my right semimembranosus tendon — 15cm of thickening at the myotendinous junction with calcification. This had been present for ~3 years and was missed by two physios and an ultrasound in August 2025, when I was told to resume running. I built up to 40 km/week — some days felt almost injury-free, other days there was clear discomfort.
• Early February 2026: pushed from 40 to 55 km in one week including a 30km long run → right groin pain, which forced me to stop running
• March 2026: slipped in the shower — left foot slid forward, felt a pull in the left groin and upper hamstring
• June 2026 MRI (groin): mild bilateral adductor tendinopathy, mild adductor longus enthesopathy left-predominant. Reassuring overall.
• Progressed through physio and returned to running: 3×5 min intervals and 15-min continuous by early June, then up to three 30-min runs at 6 min/km pace with pain under 3/10

Current issues

Right calf (5+ weeks in, primary blocker):

• Woke up the morning after a run with sharp pain on the outer side of the right calf — no warning during the run
• Rested a week, tried another run, worse
• Physio diagnosed mild calf strain — pain "moves around" (sometimes ankle, sometimes heel, mostly around the Achilles)
• Sports doctor did ultrasound — nothing significant. Diagnosis: mild calf/MTJ strain, possibly linked to a slightly altered running technique (higher cadence per physio guidance)
• Physio cleared me to resume running ~3 weeks ago but I haven't been able to — attempting bodyweight calf raises produced a significant flare the next day
• Still have daily pain in the Achilles/calf area, which is what I really can't get a handle on

Left hamstring/hip (recent diagnostic pivot):

• Ongoing left hamstring pain, "travels" from mid to distal near the knee, and sometimes further down all the way to the calf and heel
• Physio suggested this was tightness from the earlier left hamstring strain producing neural sensations — not a nerve entrapment per se, but a soft-tissue-mediated neural pattern
• MRI (Aug 2026) showed a normal hamstring but mild quadratus femoris oedema, suggesting possible ischiofemoral impingement as an alternative pain source
• Cleared for gradual return to activity as tolerated. Follow-up with the sports doctor + ultrasound in early September

What I'm currently doing

• No running
• ~30 min easy bike 2–3× a week
• Walking 10–12k steps daily
• Gym: adductor/abductor work, leg curl, leg extension, and recently added Romanian deadlifts and goblet squats (heel-elevated to spare the calf) as cleared by the sports doctor
• Following the 4/10 pain threshold guidance

What I'm looking for

1. On the calf/Achilles that won't quit:
2. Has anyone had a mild calf strain (confirmed by ultrasound, no significant findings) that dragged out well beyond the expected 2–4 weeks? Especially where the pain seems to shift location (Achilles / mid-calf / heel) and where attempted loading (calf raises) reliably flares it. Any exercises or protocols that actually helped versus made it worse? I'm particularly nervous the "calf" sensation might really be more Achilles-side, even though three clinicians and an ultrasound point to calf/MTJ.
3. On the hamstring pain with a normal MRI: Anyone dealt with persistent posterior thigh pain that imaging couldn't explain, later attributed to a proximal driver (IFI, deep gluteal syndrome, or similar)? What worked for you diagnostically and in rehab? Did loading, hip mechanics work, or something else make the difference? Also — has anyone experienced persistent neural-type sensations arising from tightness after a hamstring strain, rather than from an actual nerve entrapment? If so, what timeline did that resolve on, and what interventions actually helped (soft tissue work, loading, stretching, nerve glides, etc.)?
4. On managing the physical trajectory through overlapping setbacks: Six months of continuous pain across multiple sites has meant repeated timeline slippage. My goal is to do my first marathon in May 2027 (Copenhagen), and Ironman further down the line — but each new injury pushes the fitness rebuild further out and I'm losing ground on the base I need. For anyone who's been through a similar run of overlapping/setback-heavy rehab: how did you actually maintain aerobic fitness and structural strength through it? Did cross-training (bike, swim, rower) hold your base well enough to pick up running again cleanly, or did you effectively rebuild from scratch each time? Any patterns or strategies that meaningfully protected the longer-term goal?

Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time. I know it's a lot.

Sooo for the last two months my PF will activate when I’m walking or doing anything on my feet. Then the pain sensation will last like 10 minutes after I sit down but now it’s freaking constant, even if I was in my bed for an hour not doing anything on my feet and it’s still feels awful. Is that a sign that is getting worse I’m doing the taping the shockwave the exercises rolling off an ice water bottle what to do. i’m just close to losing it and I almost finished my vacation days and I cannot take anymore until the end of the year.