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Stress Fracture
One of the most common injuries in sports is a stress fracture. Overcoming an injury like a stress fracture can be difficult, but it can be done.
What is a stress fracture?
A stress fracture is an overuse injury. It occurs when muscles become fatigued and are unable to absorb added shock. Eventually, the fatigued muscle transfers the overload of stress to the bone causing a tiny crack called a stress fracture.
Where do they occur?
Most stress fractures occur in the weight bearing bones of the lower leg and the foot. More than 50 percent of all stress fractures occur in the lower leg.
Stress Fractures are usually seen in people who participate in sports such as running, tennis, basketball, and soccer where the foot and leg are subjected to repetitive movement. Although stress fractures represent true breaks in the bone, they are considered overused injuries because they are not caused by a single hit or twist, but a series a low grade stresses to a specific area of the bone.
What causes a stress fracture?
The two most common causes of stress fractures are
- Over-training
- Structural or biomechanical abnormalities of the foot
Stress fractures often are the result of increasing the amount or intensity of an activity too rapidly. They also can be caused by the impact of:
- An unfamiliar surface (a tennis player who has switched surfaces from a soft clay court to a hard court)
- Improper equipment (a runner using worn or less flexible shoes)
- Increased physical stress (a basketball player who has had a substantial increase in playing time)
What activities make athletes most susceptible to stress fractures?
Studies have shown that athletes participating in tennis, track and field, gymnastics, and basketball are very susceptible to stress fractures. In all of these sports, the repetitive stress of the foot striking the ground can cause trauma.
An athlete risks developing stress fracture without sufficient rest between workouts or competitions.
How are stress fractures treated?
The most important treatment is rest. Individuals need to rest from the activity that caused the stress fracture, and engage in a pain-free activity during the six to eight weeks it takes most stress fractures to heal.