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Stress Fracture..
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Diagnosed with a 'Healing grade 1 stress fracture' in the posterior left medial tibia....

Typical healing time for this? Should I wear a walking air boot for this? Physio doesn't seem sure if its necessary.....but if it'll actualy help, I'd wear it.....

Thx
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Re: Stress Fracture.. [SBRcanuck] [ In reply to ]
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That sucks. My experience was 3 months to heal, doctor did not think boot was necessary. Good luck with recovery.
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Re: Stress Fracture.. [JMike] [ In reply to ]
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How did you return to running after the 3 months, as in, speed and distance?
Thx
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Re: Stress Fracture.. [SBRcanuck] [ In reply to ]
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Seems like the same thing I had this time last year. I was told 10-12 weeks to fully heal but I started running after 8 weeks, very easy pace and it never bothered me again.
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Re: Stress Fracture.. [SBRcanuck] [ In reply to ]
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i've had 6 in the right post-tib. never used a walking boot. healing time is approx. 8-12 weeks, then ease back in with short easy jogs. (ie. start at 5 min and go up SLOWLY from there).
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Re: Stress Fracture.. [kristenm] [ In reply to ]
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Have been there and done that as well. It does suck.
Advice:
1. Follow a strict plan under the supervision of a sports doc or decent physiotherapist.
2. Don't try and do too much too soon-if you re-injure things you will be out for much longer.
3. That injury does not mean you cannot work on other things-think of it as an ideal time to work on swimming and riding-your swimming will come along amazingly without the fatigue from running all the time.
4. Walking boots: my sports doc put me in one for 6 weeks as I struggled to be compliant with resting it properly. I could put it on and off to drive etc but at work was made to wear it and it was good for me.
5. When you start back, start back slowly. These injuries are normally the result of biomechanical issues or load management issues, take the time to get them both sorted.
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Re: Stress Fracture.. [SBRcanuck] [ In reply to ]
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I've had multiple stress fractures in my tibia. They can vary in recovery time depending on the severity and other factors (mainly lifestyle and how much you rest during the injury period). Generally all require atleast 6-8 weeks to heal. You can bike/swim/etc as long as there is no pain during activity (or after the activity). Wear a boot if you feel pain while walking. If you don't you're fine to move around without it.

When you start running again jog super slowly and easy (i.e. atleast 1.5-2 min slower than normal). Stop is there is any pain or soreness during the run or post run. Some doctors will have you start with walk/run intervals and some will do 20 min continuous every other day and build from there. I've done both and didn't see a huge difference. The run/walk method likely leads to fewer other flareups while you're building up.

I've been through this a few times so let me know if you have additional questions on specifics!
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Re: Stress Fracture.. [TMR] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks for the info.

So given that you've had them many times, was there anything you tried specific to prevent future occurrences?
I guess I'm trying to figure out if it was simply overuse, or if it is an indicator that I need orthotics, etc...
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Re: Stress Fracture.. [SBRcanuck] [ In reply to ]
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SBRcanuck wrote:
Thanks for the info.

So given that you've had them many times, was there anything you tried specific to prevent future occurrences?
I guess I'm trying to figure out if it was simply overuse, or if it is an indicator that I need orthotics, etc...

I know this is directed at TMR, but I can give my feedback as well.
You will get a variety of opinions, to be honest orthotics seem to be dished out all the time for reasons that do not seem entirely clear to me (ie it looks like a bit of money making for many sports practices etc).
My coach is very clear on this, it all comes down to load management along with potentially some biomechanical issues that a good running specific strength and conditioning coach can help out with.
Shoe choice is important in the overall scheme of things as well, my coach makes me train the longer stuff in more heavily cushioned shoes (which I know can be controversial) and save my lighter weight shoes for tempo/speed work and race day.
From what you have described, this sounded like shin splints (MTSS), just the worst end of the MTSS spectrum but the best in terms of stress fracture grades?
There is some low quality evidence that ultrasound may speed up the recovery period (did not work for me), but speaking from experience, it is important to wait out the recovery period before you load it up again and just start off slowly. I have run my fastest half marathons late this year after having close to 12 weeks off running with MTSS in July.
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Re: Stress Fracture.. [pbnz] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks. I think I am of the same thought regarding orthotics.
I definitely have some biomechanical issues and imbalances, mostly in the hips along with CAM/FAI. So while I'm not a big believer in orthotics, I sometimes wonder if I'm making a mistake by not using them......ie. did my pronation cause the fracture, and would orthotics have prevented it......probably not, but who knows. I do have an expensive set of custom made orthotics, but they felt very....clunky and heavy.....then they started squeaking in my shoes, that was the last straw...lol.
I've been running in New Balance Beacons for the past 3-4 months, using the stock insole with a metatarsal pad stuck on to it (partly for some big toe joint pain).

In general, over the past several years, it seems like any time I try to increase my run mileage over 30-40km per week, something starts to hurt....
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Re: Stress Fracture.. [SBRcanuck] [ In reply to ]
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I ditched my prescribed orthotics very quickly! Too clunky and felt horrible to run in. That was about $700 down the drain pretty quickly.
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Re: Stress Fracture.. [SBRcanuck] [ In reply to ]
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The root of the issue can be different for everyone and depends on your own unique situation in terms of athletic history, lifestyle, training, biomechanics, etc. Narrowing down a cause may be simple (ex: caloric deficiency or building up mileage too quickly) or may be more complex. I'd suggest discussing the issue with your coach, doctor or PT.

I am still working on tracking down my root cause but its likely training issues and biomechanic problems related to my unique anatomy (I have much smaller calves than quads).
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Re: Stress Fracture.. [TMR] [ In reply to ]
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Unsolicited advice. I had this and 8-12 about right but in the meantime you can:
Aqua jog w/ music.
Alter G treadmill w/ music; perfect to transition adding weight.
Crosstrain a ton.
Get things done like equipment responsibilites, get family things done etc.
GOOD LUCK!!!
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Re: Stress Fracture.. [SBRcanuck] [ In reply to ]
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SBRcanuck wrote:
Thanks for the info.

So given that you've had them many times, was there anything you tried specific to prevent future occurrences?
I guess I'm trying to figure out if it was simply overuse, or if it is an indicator that I need orthotics, etc...


1) look back at your training regime, 75% of the time these come from training errors,

2) There is a strong correlation with runners who stomp the ground on impact vs those who run lighter. The rate of loading with stompers is much higher and can lead to a stress response or stress fracture.

give this a read. https://www.jospt.org/...2519/jospt.2014.5334

CB
Physical Therapist/Endurance Coach
http://www.cadencept.net
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Re: Stress Fracture.. [ret123] [ In reply to ]
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ret123 wrote:
...
Alter G treadmill ...

That looks very cool! But I am probably 2000km from the closest one... :(
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Re: Stress Fracture.. [PTinAZ] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks, will give that a read!
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