Yup, had a stress fracture last August.

It was about 8 weeks of zero running but I could pretty well swim and ride without issue.

It was a slow build back into running with a lot of run walks, a humbling experience. I initially wasn’t confident as I still felt some pain and aches and at one point I was convinced I fractured it again after a shakeout jog immediately following a flight to ‘Stralia. It turns out that trying to run after 20 hours of travel and some swelling was really just a dumb idea and I was fine.

I started racing again in March and hit a huge 5K PB and followed that up with a big 10KM PB in April, so perhaps the time off was good in a sense and freshened me up.

So there’s a happy success story for you...

All on super low mileage for me with 3 runs a week and never more than 35 miles supplemented with swim bike :)

Hi there,

I broke my calcaneum many years ago in a rock climbing accident 50ft to the deck. I had to have a bone graft from my hip as it was that bad.

Honestly you will recover, even though it can be long in terms of process due to circulation issues etc. I climbed better and stronger after the accident and yes can run, amongst all the other disciplines we do.

You will be fine!

I had a calcaneal stress fx in 2012. I was in a pretty terrible boot contraption for 4 months, mostly because the boot was so uncomfortable that I wouldn't wear it as much as I needed to. I broke it in mid-May and was back to "running" by October, with a couch to 10k program. I was able to do an IM in June 2013 with no issues.

What I really got out of the whole experience was that my run form was terrible. I was doing this weird pendulum swing with my leg as I ran. This made my calf and plantar fascia work overtime, to the point where they got so tight that they literally pulled my heel bone apart. I learned that I wasn't firing my glutes AT ALL, did a ton of rehab and form work, and now I'm better than I ever was.

calcaneus fracture doesn't tell us much. A stress fracture yes it will heal in position and you will be good to go. Fell 10 feet and crushed the thing a whole different story.

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They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot

Oh yeah, I've done that. And I fractured a lumbar vertebrae in the same go. St. Patrick's day 2012 (fun night, until it wasn't). The doctors said I probably wouldn't be able to walk again without pain and I definitely wouldn't be able to run without pain. The ironic thing was that I wasn't a runner before the accident, but with the certainty of those statements, I immediately decided to become a runner. I was in a wheelchair for a while, then crutches and I don't remember how long it was before I actually started running, but I've not had any of the issues that I was expecting to have. You'll be fine.

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Awesome, thanks for the reply!

Car accident, compound fracture of my heel among other injuries. I'm 16 weeks post break and just got the green light last Thursday to put finally put some weight on my foot. Still have an open wound on the side of my foot which is scheduled to be stitched closed on July 2nd. 13 screws in my heel as well. Long road to recovery to say the least. Had to defer 4 races until next year. I'm hoping I can do at least one of them.

Awesome news, congrats and thanks for the story.

Xray!! Post the Xray!

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Yes! That's amazing. I mean, you have to recognize the complexity of that repair job. My surgeon said putting bone back together is a lot like woodworking. The hardware is certainly reminiscent of it.

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Have been a runner for 50 years and had a calcaneus stress fracture 13 years ago. In a walking boot for eight weeks, as mentioned no issue with swimming and or cycling during that period. Once I was able to build back carefully I was able to resume a normal program. I have had no further issues with heel in the following years!

For sure it's amazing. I was told heel fractures only make up 2% of all fractures. Pretty rare to break, either a fall from a decent height or car accidents. How did you break yours domingjm? St Patricks day, assuming some beers involved?

They also are often accompanied by vertebral fractures or injuries, and mine was no exception. The positive part about a fracture though is that unless the bone is shattered, it usually proceeds along a well-defined healing timeline and you have no further issues with it. Contrast that with soft tissue injuries, particularly ligaments and tendons, which can give you unpredictable problems for life. I'm seeing that in the contralateral foot.

Yeah, so all of the alcohols were involved with mine. Super drunk, climbing old buildings downtown like spiderman wannabes with some friends (and trying to impress a girl), jumped off at a height that I though was reasonable, which ended up being about 15ft and immediately lost the ability to move and lost consciousness shortly after. I was in the ICU for three days but I was on so many (awesome) drugs that I had no scope of the severity of the situation. Of course it's impossible to predict the serial effects of any individual event but I can confidently say that I wish I wouldn't have made that decision.

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