Commonwealth Orthopaedics: Stress Fractures

01.25.2013 / Blog Posts Health and Wellness

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One of the most common injuries in sports is a stress fracture. 

If you’ve started a New Year’s resolution to exercise more, you may be prone to a stress fracture if you increase your activity too quickly.  Categorized as an overuse injury, stress fractures occur with bone overloading and muscle fatigue such that they are unable to absorb added shock. Eventually, the overloaded bone develops a tiny crack called a stress fracture.

Stress fractures often are the result of increasing the amount or intensity of an activity too rapidly. They also can be caused by the impact of an unfamiliar surface (a tennis player who has switched surfaces from a soft clay court to a hard court); improper equipment (a runner using worn or less flexible shoes); and increased physical stress (a basketball player who has had a substantial increase in playing time).

At first, stress fractures may be barely noticeable. Some symptoms can be:
• Swelling
• Pain
• Tenderness in a specific spot
• Increased swelling and pain with activity
• Decreased swelling and pain with rest
• Earlier onset of pain with each successive workout
• Continued pain at rest as the damage progresses

For more information on the treatment and prevention of stress fractures, go to: http://blog.c-o-r.com/2012/05/02/stress-fractures/

By Daniel Thompson, MD; Commonwealth Orthopaedics

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