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Stress Fracture
Stress fractures are among the most common sports injuries and are frequently managed by family physicians or doctors. It also occurs among people playing different sports.
What is stress fracture?
A stress fracture is one type of incomplete fractures in bones. It could be described as a very small sliver or crack in the bone; this is why it is sometimes dubbed "hairline fracture". It typically occurs in weight-bearing bones, such as the tibia/fibula and metatarsals, which are all long bones of the leg.
Causes
Stress fractures often are the result of overuse or repeated impacts on a hard surface. Increasing the amount or intensity of an activity too rapidly is a common cause of a stress fracture, as is using improper equipment.
Bones affected:
The aggregate of all bones of the foot is significant including:
- Metatarsal bones,
- Navicular,
- Calcaneus
- Cuboid being the most often seen affected foot bones.
The tibia and femur are also commonly seen sites of chronic repetitive stress injury of bone.
How and where does it occur?
Bones are constantly attempting to remodel and repair themselves, especially during a sport where extraordinary stress is applied to the bone. Over time, if enough stress is placed on the bone that it exhausts the capacity of the bone to remodel, a weakened site -- a stress fracture -- on the bone may appear.
The fracture does not appear suddenly. It occurs from repeated traumas, none of which is sufficient to cause a sudden break, but which, when added together, overwhelm the osteoblasts that remodel the bone.
Who suffer from stress fracture?
Stress fractures commonly occur in:
- Sedentary people who suddenly undertake a burst of exercise (whose bones are not used to the task)
- Olympic-class athletes who do extraordinary quantities of high-impact exercise
- Soldiers who march long distances
Sports involved:
Without sufficient rest between workouts or competitions an athlete could risk developing a stress fracture. Thus stress fracture is commonly found in sports such as:
- Running
- Track
- Gymnastics
- Basketball
Treatment
Rest is the only way to completely heal a stress fracture. The average time of complete rest from the activity that caused the stress fracture is one week. A fracture requires 4 to 8 weeks of recuperation, however, which may include no more than light use of the injured body part, as long as activity does not cause pain.