Hey guys…another setback for me. Diagnosed with a calcaneal Stress fracture…not a whole lot of info from the MRI but it’s adjacent to the insertion of the Achilles. The doc said there isn’t much bone marrow edema and hasn’t given me a boot. Says I can swim and cycle with low resistant but wear stiff shoes in the house and limit my walking until another scan in 8 weeks.
Does anyone have any experience with this? I don’t want to make it worse and want to return to running as soon as possible…
Hopefully some positive stories about this healing quickly!!!
Many years ago I had a calcaneus stress fracture, I biked and swam with no problem. Like with any stress fracture, the key is to be extra cautious when returning to running. Let the body heal and be patient when returning to running, often a very gradual run/walk program helps you do that. Best of luck
Last year I broke my foot in February at the end of a long run when I stepped into a snow covered sidewalk pothole. It was a nasty acute displaced Jones fracture. The first guy that saw me did not want to do surgery. I began swimming again and then gradually added cycling and running but the foot was working well and it was painful. After around 20 weeks I started training as I was behind schedule for an IM race, did not go well, my body was unbalanced using other muscles to remove stress from the foot and ended up straining my back. Had to miss the NY marathon in Nov. After taking time off again, the foot fully healed, no issues this year doing any type of mileage, running, speed. The bone is like double the size now lol.
Long story short, we put a lot of stress into foot bones when we run, so give it time to heal. In your case eight weeks seems like eternity but its a lot better than a whole year dealing with it. I would have been better off going in a cast for 12-16 weeks, and just forgetting about the season and maybe aimed for NY in the fall. I am doing a lot better this year, can run all speeds, terrain, mileage.
Another Setback is what is concerning. I worked with a woman a couple years ago. Two stress fractures in 8 months among other injuries years past. We did a full run analysis on her, worked with her coach on her program. At the time she had one scheduled run per week. We added 3 that were 15 minutes each and had a specific purpose. She used the program to qualify for and then race in the 70.3 worlds. My point is all of her injuries were tied to one main problem. We couldn’t fix the problem but we could work with it so that she could run fast off the bike.
That sounds like me. It’s been about 2 weeks (only diagnosed Monday) still really sore to walk but each person I’ve spoke to has advised against a boot or crutches and to just wear shoes all the time…but I’m worried this might delay any healing.
Did you have to wear a boot or anything?
I’m so glad yours is not a horror story like some I’ve read! Maybe there’s hope for me yet
Wow that sounds like a nasty injury…glad to hear you’ve fully recovered and able to run again no issues.
Do you still get any ‘phantom pains?’ Do you have specific rehab exercises/ankle strengthening to do?
I’m worried that even after the fracture heals I’ll have a load of weakness and imbalances!
Hi Dave! Thanks for the reply.
Low bone density and a lot of imbalances/weaknesses from a hip sfx last year is the issue.
My doctor also said I’m quite bow legged and overpronate quite a bit.
I’m looking into getting a new pair of running shoes (now just walking shoes) but have no clue what would be best for me.
I echo Madison Man’s comments. In 2013, I had sudden foot pain on the last long run, one week before the 70.3 World Championships in Las Vegas. I went to my orthopedist & nothing showed up with regular x-ray, so having flights, hotel & race entry paid for, I went ahead & flew to Vegas, hoping some miracle would happen & I could race. My foot was still pretty painful, but I went ahead & swam & rode & put on my running shoes in transition, but stopped after maybe 100 yards knowing there was no way I was going to make it 13.1 miles. When I got back home, I took a couple of weeks off running & my foot felt better, so I tried running again & it felt OK, but I still felt like something wasn’t right. It took a week or so to schedule an MRI which showed that I had a calcaneus stress fracture. I didn’t wear a boot & didn’t do anything in particular. Just no running & as much as possible, always wore a shoe, no walking around barefoot. I continued to swim & ride & would usually ice my foot after riding. After 8 weeks, I slowly started running & avoided hills for several weeks. I haven’t had any problems since.
Good luck. Just give it time & I’m sure you will be back running normally.
OK
Hip strength and balance are extremely important in running. If you have neither your body will adjust to make sure it still runs straight. That can cause enormous strain. I’ll use a simple example. When a runner has poor range of motion in the hip, something still has to rotate. In most runners it’s the foot that rotates. The foot will turn out like a duck to compensate for the lack of motion in the hip. Some athletes are strong enough to manage it most are not. It’s an example only.
Balance Work can be done through Yoga. The Yoga Tree pose is a good place to start.
Hip strength - You can work on it with your stress fracture. Google 7 way hips.
I wouldn’t think about running until you really master the above and maybe other Single leg Yoga poses.
Once you are ready to start running, PM me and I’d be happy to help out and direct you towards some shoes.
Hey, thanks for the reply. Sorry about the worlds, did you manage to get back?
It’s encouraging to hear we have the same treatment method and you recovered well.
Did you have any problems kicking off the wall/flip turning in the pool? I’m trying to use the other leg at the moment but I’m thinking if I push off gently with both feet (not the heel) I should be alright…
I had an injury I can’t get figured out and waiting to have an MRI. Mine is on the lateral ankle no tendon pain or soreness or anything like that. What were your symptoms and onset of it?
It was a sudden sharp pain when I landed on it. Lateral swelling, diagnosed as a tendon thing at first.
painful on the ‘lift off’ action of walking rather than actually weight bearing on it…
That sounds exactly like what mine felt like. Did my warmup no issues at all. Took my first step and bam! 10/10 pain. Then it subsided and came back about 15 minutes later. I am negative on all the stress tests(resisted inversion/eversion) No pain on palpation or any pain when on resistance tests. Right when I load the foot when walking and toeing off it hurts laterally. Not on the tendon but in the area below it. hmmmmm.
Do you remember how long you felt discomfort for? Did you have to ‘wean’ out of your shoes after the 6 weeks or were you pain free by then?
It’s a slight discomfort in my shoes but if I take a step without them it’s really tender!
As best as I can remember, it felt much better after 4 weeks, felt fine after 6, but I was cautious & didn’t start running for 2 more weeks. My daily test was how it felt taking a shower. It slowly felt better putting more weight on it on the hard floor. Like you said, I remember being careful doing flip turns in the pool. I quickly got use to just pushing off with one leg.
From my experience you should feel & sense improvement after 4 weeks, just stay patient & don’t excited & try running too soon.
I had this exact stress fracture in May 2012 and was in a boot for 4 months… I was allowed to swim and bike as much as I wanted to, but well, I went overboard and was doing way too much. My boot was also incredibly uncomfortable (it was a custom made leather + carbon fiber boot designed to keep my heel from impacting as I walked). It was so uncomfortable that I didn’t wear it nearly as much as I should have, which also extended my recovery.
Basically, if you want it to heal quickly, get off your foot as much as possible. The heel doesn’t have a lot of blood flow and it just takes longer to heal than other places.
Also, when you are able to run again, get your run form evaluated from someone who REALLY knows what they’re doing. I broke my heel basically because my run form was shit. I wasn’t engaging my glutes at all, causing my plantar facia and calf muscles to do most of the work. Both of those muscles to so tight that they literally pulled my bone apart. I’ve done LOADS of glute work since and don’t have any issues anymore.
