Signs and Symptoms

• Pain and/or point tenderness over specific area(s) of a bone.
• Pain and discomfort during impact type activities such as running, jumping, etc.
• As stress fractures becomes more pronounced the pain and discomfort may persist even during lower level activities including walking.
• Muscle spasm and tenderness in muscles near or around the area of the fracture.

Injury Description:

• A stress fracture is a very slight fracture, usually incomplete, which occurs in bones that experience repetitive stressful forces.
• Stress fractures generally develop over a period of several weeks to even months of continual, repetitive stress.
• Often the fracture will not show up on x-rays until several weeks after the onset of pain. In many cases it is the bony callous formation, not the fracture itself, that provides positive diagnosis of a stress fracture.

What Can I Do?

• In cases of positively diagnosed stress fracture rest and avoidance of the repetitive activity that caused the fracture is essential.
• Depending on the site of the fracture low intensity and / or non-weight bearing activities and exercise such as swimming and biking are usually acceptable.
• Return to activity should be determined by your physician and should be gradual. It is also important to evaluate and determine the cause of the fracture initially.
• During painful stages of acute inflammation application of ice to the fracture sites is often helpful. Ice should be applied for 10 to 15 minutes at a time. This will help decrease inflammation and pain.

To maximize your chances for optimal recovery, often a physician will suggest you consult with us to evaluate and modify your treatment and exercises to meet your specific needs.

For more information about stress fractures check out this link:
http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00112