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Stress Fracture

sam_thebatmansam_thebatman Posts: 112
in General Chat
Hey, anyone had one. I have got one in my tibia at the moment and have been off running for about 5 weeks, feels ok now, though i wont really be able to tell until i start running again. If youve had one how long were you out for?

Comments

  • TommiTriTommiTri Posts: 879
    I'm recovering from a femoral neck stress fracture at the moment. I am 12 weeks since diagnosis and about 4 months since the fracture happened (I think)

    Unfortunately I also have femoral impingement, most likely due to a labrum tear so my recovery is taking a while and surgery may be still on the cards.



    What would be best to do is follow a 12 week program. There are a few on the internet, some which involve running in water. Personally I think as a triathlete thats not really required as you can just swim and work on that instead.

    This is roughly what I followed



    phase 1 weeks 1-3 - non weight baring for first 1-2 weeks, building up to walking without pain.



    phase 2 weeks 4-6 - start swimming when the pain on walking has gone, during this time you can try low resistance cycling, if it doesn't hurt (at all!) then it should be ok, but keep the intensity and duration low



    Phase 3 weeks 7-9 - start low level cycling on the road, but not too much intensity, stay in the saddle and go easy on hills



    Phase 4 weeks 10 - 12 - start low level jogging on treadmill or grass, no tarmac allowed!!



    After week 12 you should try and arrange either an MRI scan or techniceium (can't spell it!) which will show if the fracture has heeled, if it has you can start building back up to normal training.



    BUT remember the reason you got a fracture in the first place, most likely caused by upping the training by too much too quickly so bear that in mind. if you do this again it will come back





    The most important point when following this plan is that you cannot move onto the next phase if you are getting any significant pain, and if you are during a phase and you get pain from the activity within that phase then you MUST go back to the start of that phase.



    hope all goes well,

    Tom
  • langers08langers08 Posts: 19
    Very interested to see this discussion as I'm an orthopaedic surgeon/triathlete. I've just been treating 2 youngsters, one with an early tibial stress fracture, the other with a hip stress fracture. I fixed the hip one 2 weeks ago & she's now doing 1hr of spin sessions twice a week & walking pain free. Interestingly she also has x-ray evidence of hip impingement! The tibial stress fracture is going to be treated non-operatively & I think that your training plan is a good one. Pain is a bad sign & shows that whatever you're doing is too much.



    If you want any more info on impingement look at my website www.hipandkneeadvice.com. It's in the process of being updated to include a newer section on keyhole surgery for impingement so watch this space. Hope this helps.
  • TommiTriTommiTri Posts: 879
    Langers,

    How did you fix the hip fracture? Is there any reason you decided to fix it rather than just conservative treatment?



    The girl with impingement, what do you think is causing the impingement?



    As I mentioned, i don't seem to be having the pain of the original fracture, but I seem to be getting a catching pain in the groin when I flex the hip, and then rotate the leg inward. I am still unsure whether I can start running, I am waiting for an MRI in april to try and find out what is causing the impingement.
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