Thanks for the positive comments. There are so many kind, supportive people on this website! I wish I had found it much sooner. I would like to reply to my own original post now: I found a much better physiatrist who gave me a correct diagnosis when 4 previous doctors failed. What has been holding me back all through this rehab is chronic bursitis in the knee and hip plus inflammation in the big ileotibial band that stretches from the hip across the top of the thigh and connects just below the need on the outer side of the calf. Shockwave therapy is helping a lot! I woke up yesterday without stiffness, pain or swelling for the first time in 10 months. When I stretched I had gained several defre