until the bone snaps completely.What else could it be? A variety of illnesses, infections or even growths can cause bone pain – various tests can confirm or eliminate the possibility of their existence.Self-treatmentRest! (This doesn’t mean you shouldn

‘RICE’ is commonly used as an aide mémoire.R stands for Rest – common sense, really, but a runner in the middle of a race or training session may not heed the symptoms of a less severe injury and just carry on. There may be some excuse, as exercise

such as psoriasis.Self-treatmentIf you’re courageous enough, make a needle red-hot and let it burn through the centre of the nail, about 3-5mm up from the base to relieve the pent-up blood underneath. You can squeeze out the rest of the blood by hand

, such as patellar problems, and cartilage tears and strains, as well as arthritis and internal damage, which produces fluid on the knee.Self-treatmentRest, ice and anti-inflammatories with training modification may well be sufficient to settle the problem

rest becomes a painful necessity.Medical treatmentIf conservative measures with non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (eg ibuprofen) fail, a steroid cortisone injection may reduce the inflammation. Many cases require surgery to remove the damaged, swollen

, and that it is not caused by a cyst on the tendon. Osgood Schlatter’s disease can occur at the lower end of the patellar tendon in younger athletes. Self-treatmentWhilst rest, ice and anti-inflammatories may give temporary relief, self-treatment is usually ineffective

’s rest after the injection, but if more conservative methods of treatment are used, training can be increased accordingly as the crepitus and swelling subside.

cause.Medical treatmentAlthough most cases recover with rest, ultrasound treatment will hasten matters. There is an extremely small chance that you’ll need surgery to release the sheath if biomechanical changes by a podiatrist are ineffective.Can you run

and stress fractures.Self-treatment Rest is probably the most important element of RICE, as ice itself sometimes causes more pain. Make sure you have appropriate shoes, which will almost certainly include some sort of orthoses to limit your pronation

GETTY IMAGESPicture the scene (you may not have to try too hard). You’re in good shape, you’re enjoying your run and suddenly something hurts. How do you know whether to run through it – crying ‘no pain, no gain’ – or to rest for five minutes