Has anyone had, known anyone who had, or know anything about Tibial stress fractures personally? I have googled quite a bit but am trying to find some more in depth personal accounts… Any help???
What exactly do you want to know?
I’ve only had two last year. My personal recommendation is as follows: if you walk all of a HIM run but four miles after a first fracture, and you’re okay… don’t go run 21 miles two days later. That’s a good way to re-fracture yourself.
What exactly do you want to know?
I want to know what they feel like from the beginning, and how you know it is a stress fracture for sure and not just something else? I also want to know, if it is just the very very start of one, if you reduce mileage by quite a bit, and ice and take care of it while you do, will it make it less likely to develop into the real thing? Any other info would help…
Had something that felt like a shin splint, kept on running. About two miles into the run, absolutely couldn’t run any more and started crying (very unusual for me). The next morning, couldn’t walk or put on a shoe. Good thing I had some left over crutches around, or I wouldn’t have been able to walk. Had a complete stress fracture in one leg and a partial one in the other.
You have to get an MRI to conclude what it is. I had a “boot” and crutches for a couple weeks and have been scared to run since. Didn’t feel completely normal for a few months.
If you think you have a stress fracture, check it out. It’s not worth it to try to get in a few extra miles if you’re going to make it worse.
What it is for me is it just feels like shin splints for weeks now… about two weeks, maybe two and a half. It hasn’t gotten worse, about the same for the most part. Some days I won’t even feel it at all… Is that how it started? Because it never feels like I can’t finish a workout.
See this thread for my experience. Ended up not being a fracture.
Are your shoes old? For me, the fracture came up rather quickly. I did a fast 10 mile run one day in cold conditions followed by some body weight exercises. The next day was off (used the elliptical), and the following day was the workout that I had to stop.
You might want to take it easy for a few days and ice to see if it gets better. If this is the case, it’s probably not a stress fracture.
No my shoes are fairly new. Only have about 150 miles on them.
I do have a spot on my tibia that if you straight knock on it with your knuckle there is a little pain, but nothing that I would even think twice about if I wasn’t going crazy over what google says about this.
Mine was about 3" up from my ankle and ended up being a small muscle in the area that became inflamed when I switched out shoes. Had me scared as all hell with me coming into IMC. I ended up being fine.
Was the actualy bone sore at all? Or just pain in the muscle?
So what did you wind up having to do with your shoes? I mean these are my shoes… Am I supposed to just not wear them?
It really felt like it was the bone that was hurting, but apparently not. Everything I read said if you jumped up and down off of one leg and the pain was worse then it was a sign of a SFX, in my case it did hurt pretty bad, but still no SFX. I kept wearing the Kinvaras, I think my body was just adjusting to a different footstrike. I really scaled back the running in the 3 or so weeks leading into IMC just to be sure, and completed it without that pain ever flaring up again.
It really felt like it was the bone that was hurting, but apparently not. Everything I read said if you jumped up and down off of one leg and the pain was worse then it was a sign of a SFX, in my case it did hurt pretty bad, but still no SFX. I kept wearing the Kinvaras, I think my body was just adjusting to a different footstrike. I really scaled back the running in the 3 or so weeks leading into IMC just to be sure, and completed it without that pain ever flaring up again.
You said it really felt like it was the bone hurting… Was that when you put pressure on it with your hand or fingers? Like did you push on it and in one spot it was a little worse?
I just went for a run… 8 miles today, and I felt the pressure in the area but it never got worse, sometimes it wouldn’t even feel pressure at all, and it never hurt to the point where I even thought about it being an INJURY. Have you run since IMC with no pain? Did you go see an orthopaedic specialist? Sorry for a million questions, but I really appreciate all the help!
It really felt like it was the bone that was hurting, but apparently not. Everything I read said if you jumped up and down off of one leg and the pain was worse then it was a sign of a SFX, in my case it did hurt pretty bad, but still no SFX. I kept wearing the Kinvaras, I think my body was just adjusting to a different footstrike. I really scaled back the running in the 3 or so weeks leading into IMC just to be sure, and completed it without that pain ever flaring up again.
You said it really felt like it was the bone hurting… Was that when you put pressure on it with your hand or fingers? Yes, there was one spot that hurt more than anywhere else. About 1" square. Like did you push on it and in one spot it was a little worse? Yes.
I just went for a run… 8 miles today, and I felt the pressure in the area but it never got worse, sometimes it wouldn’t even feel pressure at all, and it never hurt to the point where I even thought about it being an INJURY. That was the exact type of pain I had, at times it would actually get better rather than worse I almost felt like a wuss calling it “pain.” I think I was just being over-concerned. Have you run since IMC with no pain? Yes, I’m currently building mileage for a 1/2 marathon in Nov without pain. Did you go see an orthopaedic specialist? Yes, Eugene, Oregon has some great docs at SLOCUM who treat a TON of these types of injuries among all the runners here. Once he heard that the pain would actually lessen over time (and an Xray, for what it’s worth), he became convinced it was a kind of tightness that would work its way out as everything became warmed up. Sorry for a million questions, but I really appreciate all the help!
I saw a great LMT who really worked all the lower leg and I started to see improvement pretty much the next day. I’ve been pain-free since a couple weeks before IMC. No worries about all the questions. Do be sure to see your doc though and let them make the determination. I hope you’re case ends up similar to mine though!
ive had it a few years back, took 6 weeks to recover from it.
was on my right tibial medial side.
how you know it is a stress fracture for sure and not just something else?
I had a bone scan. I could see it right on the monitor. From what I recall, it actually didn’t take that long to heal. I swam and rode alot.
Once he heard that the pain would actually lessen over time (and an Xray, for what it’s worth), he became convinced it was a kind of tightness that would work its way out as everything became warmed up
Once it became warmed up? You mean like he said it would work itself out over time during a run? Or throughout the training… How long did it take for it to loosen up and go back to normal, and did it only loosen up once you scaled back the training? Or did it work itself out while you were still building?
this is a tough question. and too subjective to actually reach an answer via message boards. i’ve had shin splints… and last year was fortunate enough to have a tibial stress fracture. i’m not entirely sure how to tell you how to differentiate.
they are similar sometimes… and they present differently sometimes… hence the second hand anecdotes may not be what you want to hear. my “shin splints” were MTSS. and presented usually 1/3 to 1/2 from the distal end of my tibia… my actual stress fracture was about 1/3 from the proximal end of my tibia. i wouldn’t tell you to base your diagnosis off location as people get distal stress fx. (and my shitter of a point is that my ‘pain’ wasn’t proximally on my tibia – it presented as a rather sharp lateral pain crossing over my fibula — only after 2 weeks of a really dull pain :).
everyone will tell you to see a doc. but in reality a doc isn’t going to instantly be able to give you an answer. an mri. or any other scan costs money. a practical doc isn’t going to send you for a scan due to a pain around your tibia while running (other than xray). the remedy is rest. be it stress fracture, shin splints, anything else. you rest… it gets better… why spend crazy money (granted this could be a whole argument in itself — but a family doc with a patient such as you shouldn’t authorize such a cost — lord knows i wanted one last yr but i realize why i wasnt immediately sent for one). believe me, i wish i could have got a scan right when i suspected a stress fx and then every 2 weeks to track progress… but that aint gonna happen. and lord knows i aint paying those costs outta my pocket. my best advice is to try backing off. if the pain doesn’t subside with reduced activity then it may be osteo. but a doc and scans cost money. if you’re rich (which i guess is the case of a lot of triathletes) then get a million magnets and some radiation to tell you precisely what is wrong. if you’re in the normal boat and can’t afford those scans (or no one else is paying for them) then be prepared to deal with the unknown and do your best to not aggrevate your injury.
it can be a long self assessment of “how does your leg feel now”. assessing the “size” of soreness, the location of soreness, and the duration/severity can all be indicators of what your injury ‘may’ be… but in the end. it could be a stress fx / it could be “shin splints”. only your leg knows… and an expensive machine (that steals food from hungry african babies).
I’ve had stress fractures in other bones.
Personal experience: Your fracture will take 6-8 weeks to heal. You can definitely swim and water run. You may or may not be able to ride for the first few weeks. Your fracture may or may not show up on an x ray until a few weeks into healing, but would show up on a bone scan immediately. Eating 1500 mg of calcium + vitamin d + vitamin k per day (no more than 500 mg Ca in one time) will give the bones the nutrients they need to heal.
Sorry to hear of your fx.
THey feel like a very tender painful spot - you will be able to push on one spot and it will hurt. The diagnostic test is a bone scan.
If it’s the start of one you need to reduce mileage to zero, not “just run a little bit.”
Ice won’t heal a fx but may help reduce swelling.