Chronic inflammation help please

[ProbablyLate]

I'm on the lookout for a mumsnet medic please!

DF has had sore shins for a couple of weeks, limping about, groaning. He's usually pretty tough so I'm assuming it's genuinely pretty painful. It's just in one leg, and the pain goes away when he's resting, but hasn't got any better when he's not.

Today his shin began to feel cold to touch, so I dropped him at A&E. X-ray came back clear of bane damage, and the doctor suggested it was chronic inflammation.

Now, I'm not a doctor, but do have a biology degree - not claiming that's the same, but just to say I'm not entirely limited to google diagnoses and have some understanding of the human body! I would expect chronic inflammation to be hot and inflamed but it's neither?

I'm really looking for reassurance that this is a reasonable diagnosis and we needn't worry it's something nastier/that need quick diagnosis if that's not what it is.

Any reassurance/suggestions would be really appreciated

Oh, he's mid 50s, and has took up running, and started a health kick at the beginning of the March lockdown and lost a fair amount of weight. He was at the larger end of average before, and is now fairly slim.

Hi, where abouts is the pain on his shin? One possibility could be medial tibial stress syndrome (shin splints), this would be linked to his running but should settle once he takes time off.
Did he have a good stretch routine to accompany his running, calves can get so tight that the tiny muscle at the front of the shin gets overworked trying to work against the tight calf. So calf stretching may help.
Does his foot roll inwards at the arch? Pain worse barefoot? Could help with some arch supports.
I’d try to get a referral or physio consultation

my first thought was shin splints as well.
very common with runners.

second thought osteomalacia, i.e bone loss.

I would suggest he sees a physio to look at his running gait & shoes.
and his gp for a 'bone profile' blood test.