Hi Guru, I've had a bruise like pain where my 2nd toe meets my foot. and along the side of the 2nd toe. for months. Stopped running for 12 weeks, cut back walking and standing as much as poss. Used metatarsal pods. Feet are otherwise in good condition with no previous foot problems. Had an X-ray and there are "no significant abnormalities or fractures". Bored now. If it's not a stress fracture can I reintroduce my activities and manage the problem over time or is that the end of running for me?

Hi Lee - totally. It's time to reintroduce loading a la Goldilocks method - not too much, or too little but just right. You've done everything clinically (obvious from your deets) correct. Sometime you can feel pain without any underlying pathology, it's just your tissues displaying a chemical over sensitivity - and to make them function better and act "normal" then you need to treat the tissue normally and start to progressively load. Start, and follow the Couch To 5K app - ad verbatim! Slow, dull, boring? Possibly - but really, really good to slowly adding load..... The Guru