Stressing over a stress fracture

Hoping some of my awesome fellow runners can help...

I have a really bad pain localised in the lower part of my left leg, on the inside-to-front of my leg. I came on after a few too many football games and probably too much training in the early part of the year (lots and lots of miles on the treadmill in January).

It has been bruised at various times and feels like there it is raised slighly compared with my right leg (which is totally fine) although there is no actual swelling.

Running at all (even a light jog from the office to the car) is painful and I can feel it walking up and down stairs, too.

Icing and ibuprofen over the past week or so hasn't shifted it one bit and now I'm starting to worry that I might have a stress fracture.

Anyone able to put my mind at ease? Or, worse, confirm my suspicions?

Has it been diagnosed as a stress fracture? If it is you basicly gotta lay off as much or any impact, right from not running through to living in cushioned trainers. When I had mine it took a few months (about 5-6) of rest -although I have to say my rest was pretty much trashed frequently by my assumptions that it would be fine and the niggling would go away in a few mins....must be healed by now.....having a good day...etc so careful with your brains almighty power to develop excuses to allow you to run, the sooner you rest the sooner you run again.

And unless your not eating properly (milk/dairy/calcium rich foods along with vitamin D rich foods: shellfish and cetain nuts and sunlight) as these things are required by your body for recovery and you need to make sure your body has not just enough but that little bit extra so it can not only maintain your bones but improve on the brokn/fractured ones.

I can't comment on what it is and I doubt anyone on here can give you a diagnosis as even doctors who can see your leg wouldn't be able to see whats going on inside it, but its safe to say that if its a shin splint, stress fracture or even a muscle oull, resting is your only way out. When your sure its gone (you can hop 20 times on the same leg it hurts and there is no pain) then your fine to restart but do so slowly or you risk putting too much pressure on it too soon and restarting the whole thing again! Learn to take baby steps to getting it better, Rome was't built in a day and it will heal and get better. I had a very pronounced tibial stress fracture, I also have a low calcium and vitamin D blood test results and yet I was able to recover so I'd bet its more then fine for your body to recover as well.

I just took 6 wks off running with what I thought was a stress fracture, tried running a few hundred metres last wk and the nippy pain returned. So finally gave in and forked out 2 see physio. He reckons it's not stress fracture as I didn't go throo the roof when he tapped along my shin, was sore but not throo the roof proportions. He has diagnosed Periostitis which is inflammation of the bone. He gave me a thorough examination 2 try 2 work out possible causes 4 injury and has pinpointed my very tight hamstrings as likely cause, particularly as hamstring on the injured leg is markedly tighter than the other. Reckons it's shortening my stride on that leg and forcing me 2 raise that foot slightly higher while running. He massaged + stretched the muscle in shin 2 as the sheath around the muscle can b 2 tight and did accupuncture 2 stimulate healing in the area, then out on kinesio tape. Going back again nxt wk and he is going 2 give me plan of exercises 2 build me back up 2 running again.