I'm not as broken as I thought I was...

I don't have a Stress Fracture in my right femur. I have "stress changes."

Basically, I have an area on both of my femurs (right is much more acute) that are evidence of stress to the bone: an inflammation in the periosteum of my femur, in other words. This is according to the PA that saw me yesterday.

Now, I could not find an actual medical reference to something called a "stress change." But, I was able to track down what I really have, or at least as close as my non-MD mind can figure out.

I have shin splints in my thighs. The medical term is periosteitis, but I don't know for sure if that term refers only to shin or to other bones as well.

Naturally, I am a bit skeptical. The femur is the largest bone in the body and the spot on my leg that has the injury is right in the middle inside, away from any joints. I may yet request a second opinion, but I want to see how my physical therapy goes; this starts Monday.

I did get a whopper of a profile, though. (In the Army, if you are injured and see a doctor, he should give you a sheet of paper stating what you can and can't do, in terms of activity. This is to relieve stress to the injured part and allow it to heal. It can range from "Run at own pace" to having nearly all activities curtailed or prohibited.) Basically, I can't run, jump, stand for more than 20 minutes, march, forced march or do any kind of heavy leg activity, like flutter kicks or "froggers." So, looks like swimming is going to be my exercise, along with biking.

And I still can't climb rocks. My profile ends on June 3rd. You can bet I'll be climbing that night.