I suffered a stress fracture at the end of august 2011. The orthopoedic specialist had me get an MRI and told me not to run for 4-6 weeks and I went back for follow up x rays and he said it was all healed in the end. I have not run at all since then, except for the occasional saturday morning flag football game which I don’t even do too much in, and I ran a mile for the first time today to start getting back into it slowly like he told me to do. It doesn’t throb and ache at the fracture spot while I ran like it did before, but still pressing on the bone is tender and worries me. Is that normal? Or am I still in trouble? Any other input would be great…
Focal tenderness is often tender for many weeks past radiographic “healing” and is considered common. However, be careful, ease back into training, softer surfaces, etc.
Yes, very normal.
I suffered a stress fracture at the end of august 2011. The orthopoedic specialist had me get an MRI and told me not to run for 4-6 weeks and I went back for follow up x rays and he said it was all healed in the end. I have not run at all since then, except for the occasional saturday morning flag football game which I don’t even do too much in, and I ran a mile for the first time today to start getting back into it slowly like he told me to do. It doesn’t throb and ache at the fracture spot while I ran like it did before, but still pressing on the bone is tender and worries me. Is that normal? Or am I still in trouble? Any other input would be great…
I had a stress fracture in my left ankle that developed in January 2011 that was confirmed via MRI. Took off 6 weeks of running. Got another MRI to make sure it was it healed. I had residual pain in the area until October 2011. It is completely normal to feel pain after it is healed.
Not really had a stress fracture but not surprised about what you feel.
My case:
- oct 2009 I broke my ankle and tore ligaments. Got plate and screws in
- march 2011 I started running and the rigidity of plate and screws made my ankle sore and doctor recommended to take out screws and plate, also to avoid stress fracture. Doc said I could start running slowly some 6 weeks after surgery. Had surgery end of october 2011
- dec 2011 I start running but my ankle is very sore. Goes to see doctor who says its very normal and I should keep running but of course observe the pain. During december and early January 2012, the soreness has faded and I hardly feel it
However, I was surprised I would be sore for so long. Its now 2,5 months after surgery. No pain but still some soreness left.
I would ramp up running very slowly with less milage and less intensity than before your fracture. Also, go to gym and do excersises for the legs. This should strgenthen the muscles and take off some of the load on your ankle. Guess you already know…
What exactly does it feel like, this residual pain and soreness? How frequently is it felt and what exactly does it feel like?
Any more info would be great…
Basically what I am trying to figure out is how to know the difference between lingering symptoms of a healed stress fracture and the recurrence of the same injury???
(I ran one mile, 3 separate times this week, on soft grass)
I’ll second that question. I’m halfway through the six-week recovery period that my doctor gave me, and I’m concerned that I may ignore some tell-tale of a reinjury when I return to training in February.
I’ll second that question. I’m halfway through the six-week recovery period that my doctor gave me, and I’m concerned that I may ignore some tell-tale of a reinjury when I return to training in February.
Were you recommended to use this?
Most people relate residual “soreness” but no sharp pain when healed. However, the term “pain” or “discomfort” is highly variable. Best to always be on the side of caution of course. You can do the simple hop test for most LE stress fractures: hop barefoot on 1 leg (the injured one): 1 hop and sharp pain - back to your shoe/boot, 2 hops and pain, not ready to run yet, 3 hops and no pain, slowly get back at it on soft surfaces, etc.
Will leave the ancillary discussions out (i.e. one’s nutrition, biomechanics, external bone stimulators, etc.) since this should be addressed with your treating physician and is highly variable and most LE stress fx are simple overuse injuries.
No I wasn’t, how much is it?
When I hop I feel nothing no matter how many times I hop (not pounding down hard on heel though), just can feel soreness throughout the day…
J&J’s Exogen is about $4,000 USD … 
It does still feel a little painful 4 out of 10 at the most when I press on my tibia. But honestly, it hurts a little bit even when I press on the tibia of my other leg (I guess because pressing on your bone is generally uncomfortable). Should there be any pain at all when I press on it? When I hop on it there is no pain, like for example before when I ran I felt a distinct sharp pain in exactly one spot on my tibia, I don’t feel that when I run, but pretty much the whole rest of the day at random times I can just feel like a dull feeling in my entire leg, spreading like 3 inches either way of where my stress fracture was. I don’t understand how to distinguish whether this is going to turn back into pain, or if this is the transition back to pain-free training???
That would be normal - the dull aching around the area. Focal, sharp area of pain are what you don’t want to experience. There will be tenderness to pressing on the area for quite a while as the bone remodels. Some people feel these for 6 months post healing and you surely don’t want to be off running for 6 months. A gradual return from water running, to soft surfaces, etc. can likely be started if nothing focal, can hop without pain, and you were properly treated/immobilized for the prev 6 weeks or so. This is likely good timing/off season, so nothing wrong with taking a little more time off to be sure unless you have a Spring marathon as an A race.
No I wasn’t, how much is it?
When I hop I feel nothing no matter how many times I hop (not pounding down hard on heel though), just can feel soreness throughout the day…
My insurance covered a large portion of it. I would let you borrow it for a small fee (just because I will have to send it back for a battery replacement which is spendy). Message me if you are seriously interested in it.
So I went to see the orthopaedic specialist today after the soreness continued to increase even from only very very light running. He thinks I may have compartment syndrome since I haven’t seemed to recover from stress reaction and he thinks I should have surgery… Anyone have any experience with this situation or any advice???
Since he is recommending surgery, I assume you had a pressure test?
If not - go get a 2nd opinion.
I didn’t have a pressure test yet. He said most likely, I have to meet with the doctor who would actually do the test first…
thejunk - how did this end up. I know it has been a while since you posted but I am having the exact same issues with with tibial stress fracture now. I was diagnosed back in May and took 8 weeks off included 4 in a walking boot and 2 more partial weight bearing on crutches. I am gradually returning to running and don’t feel any pain when I hop on one foot or during running. However, during the day and in the morning I feel a dull pain around where the break was.
Did you end up having compartment syndrome?