The (Most Recent) Stress Fracture

I have another stress fracture. It started the week of Thanksgiving and solidified it during the Portsmouth Turkey Trot 5k on Thanksgiving morning. 

 The Mayo Clinic describes a stress fracture as tiny cracks in a bone. These cracks are caused by the repetitive application of force, often by overuse — such as repeatedly jumping up and down or running long distances. The Mayo Clinic further explains that stress fractures often occur in weight-bearing bones, such as in the feet and legs. One podiatrist told me that stress fractures happen in "long" bones, not "square" bones - such as shins, as opposed to heels.

 In the 9 years that I have been consistently running, I have had about four stress fractures. Sometimes I have had a diagnosis of a stress fracture which has been disputed by a different healthcare provider. I have had stress fractures that were never disputed, stress fractures that were incorrectly diagnosed, and then suspected stress fractures for which I never sought treatment. My early stress fractures were the result of complete ignorance and inexperience with anything physical or athletic. I truly did not understand or appreciate the limits of the human body. My recent stress fractures have been the result of mechanical problems. As it turns out, the combination of tight calves and not leading with one's big toes is a recipe for disaster. Calves that are tight cannot absorb the shock of hitting the ground, and that shock in turn gets transferred to the feet, and if the foot does not lead with the big toe, all of that shock gets transferred to the smaller toes - which were not designed to take that kind of pounding. What does this give a runner such as me? A stress fracture in the toe.

 In general, it takes 6-8 weeks for a stress fracture to heal. Tomorrow makes 7 (yes, count them - 7) weeks since I have run. I have a wonderful sports physical therapist and he reports that he wants me running sooner than even I do, but he has on the breaks until the fracture is completely healed. In the meantime, I am wearing shoes with stiff soles and my therapist tapes my foot for added stability. I am also torturing myself on the elliptical machine and stationary bike daily to get a similar cardiovascular workout so that I am ready to run with my foot is completely healed. It can't happen soon enough.
The location of my current stress fracture.

Comments

  1. Kathy in MDJanuary 9, 2013 at 7:00 PM

    Poor Emily.

    ReplyDelete
  2. DearNoahandDylanJanuary 9, 2013 at 10:13 PM

    Stressful in more ways than one! Can you work on stretching the calves as prevention or is that not going to help much?

    ReplyDelete

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