Post Stress Fracture....Still hurts

I am going through the same issue and there is pain with any sort of activity. I was diagnosed with fractures the cuboid and navicular (grades 3 and 4 respectively) in my right foot. I was non-weight bearing for 6 weeks and the pain is still present. My doc said this is normal and I should keep going with the rehab plan. I really nervous and I understand what you are going through. I just expressed my worries to a teammate and he said that he had some some scary long runs where he thought for sure the fracture was back.

Are there any doctors on here that could throw in some advice?

Hey thanks for posting. It is really stressful as I have some intense training approaching and it is all work related, so my job is on the line. I guess I don't want to go through this again, so I don't want to push it too soon, but on the other hand, when I need to accomplish something, I need to do it.....ARG!!

I have experienced this myself. I was told by doctors taht after a stress fracture it is normal to have residual pain, for one because your body is used to having pain there and also because the new bone growth is not smooth and kind of pokes the muscle, etc. It is all perfectly normal though, and I have never known someone who doesn't have residual pain coming back from a stress fracture. I had a severe stress fracture in my metatarsal a few years back, took itme off, and it still hurt a lot for quite a while, but I continued running and the pain eventually went away. Hope this was of some use.

How bad was the injury in the first place? Did it hurt to walk, or did it just hurt when you ran? Did the Doc say how severe he fracture was?

I had a 'mild' stress fracture, and in 6-8 weeks had no residual pain. But, I understand in more severe cases it could take up to 4 months to totally heal.

I had a tibial stress fracture over two years ago, and about once a month the area will be slightly painful after a run. I always think "oh shit" but the pain is always gone by the next day. Don't worry about it. This "phantom pain" is part of the healing process.

i broke my 5th metatarsal and when i came back from that, i developed a stress fracture and then a following stress reaction on the tibia. it never seemed to heal completely. now i am trying orthotics because it appears my foot strike has changed after breaking the metatarsal.

phantom pain is normal and i think everyone has it to some degree, but re-check your biomechanics if the pain sticks around or increases as you increase your training levels.

i feel you...

after those 6 weeks, did you wear a boot? or did you go straight from crutches to regular shoes?

also, did you get another scan to see if the bone(s) had healed?

just wanted to express my concern because I also had a navicular stress fracture, and i'm sure you know but it gets very little blood supply. This means that it doesn't heal as fast. You might want to consider taking a little more time before you get back into things.

and one more question... is the pain on the top of your foot where the cuboid and navicular meet, more on the inside of your foot, or on the bottom of your foot?

I'm in a similar pitiable situation. It's five weeks to the day since I got a moderate stress fracture in my third metatarsal. I saw the doctor last week and I'm no where close to being able to run. He did give me a date of December 8th, but I can tell that's wishful thinking. The disturbing thing for me is that I was feeling generally better and better and in the past week its actually getting WORSE every day despite being almost completely sedentary. Painful to touch and to walk around barefoot.

I think there's some good advice on this thread, good luck on your recovery.

In all I've read about stress fractures in the last two months, there is one common theme: Don't come back too quickly. Most who have had success have given the healing process more time than they or the doctors thought they would need. Then, they have really eased back into training...taking as much as 8 weeks before returning to normal speed and mileage.

Those who pushed to get back too quickly usually ended up being out for two to three times as long as they should have been.

Been out 12 weeks and still feeling some pain in the area? If it ocassional pain, you might be ok to start easy running again. If it is sharp pain or consistent pain, you would do well to take another four weeks off. Good luck!

bump

I had a SF in the neck of my femur, and I was told to go non-weight bearing with crutches, as it even hurt to walk. During this time, I did not follow the doctor's advice and often didn't use crutches just because of the hassle. I also aggravated the injury by doing some stupid things and basically just being stubborn. In any case, it took basically 8 months in all to even return to running daily. Even then, I built my mileage back up slowly, and still am doing so. Now every now and then I'll feel a twinge or a slight lingering soreness in the area, but it's not 'the same pain' (this is the key identifier) I felt when the injury incurred.

Claude, with your femoral neck stress fx, did you get it scanned before starting back running, to see if it was healed, or did you go by the decrease in pain. I'm currently waiting out another 2 weeks before getting mine rescanned and maybe then starting back running, but I still have some residual soreness in the area and am wondering if it needs to be pain-free before I start back.

Any advice much appreciated!

12 weeks is certainly long enough for the bone to fully heal, particularly since you haven't been doing things that hurt it in the meantime, so i wouldn't doubt your doctor. i have sometimes had tibial pain that feel rather SF-like, but isn't. i can relieve it enough to run comfortably by using "the stick" diligently on my soleus. it can't hurt to give it a try.

Thanks for everyone's help out there. A little more info, When I initally had the injury, I didn't take care of it and just kept running through the pain. Soon I was unable to walk to I was forced to stop. My ortopedic said it was one of the worst stress fractures he has seen. Oops. Anyways it was a pretty bad break. I am going to try and get an MRI done before I start training to be sure everything is doing ok. Also what is "The Stick?" never heard of it. Thanks agian for all the help!

To clarify, do you mean you did multiple runs through the pain? Or you felt the break then finished your run?

Well, originally, I had an x-ray. But x-ray's don't always show a stress reaction clearly. So initially, they thought it was a groin strain---which is part of the reason I aggravated it (jumping rope, playing catch, etc.). But ultimately, I had to get an MRI, which sucks because they are expensive. In any case, after months of not running, I had a 2nd MRI after I made it clear to the doctor that the pain wasn't quite so bad. The MRI then revealed that there was some bone growth in the area (which of course is a good thing). I then began a steady reintroduction to running (on my own), maybe going out 2 times a week with not so intense workouts on the stationary bike to suplement.

Again, as others here have said, residual soreness is normal. I've even gone for runs in this last month where I think I feel 'the pain' again for a few strides. Luckily, the feeling seems to go away as the run continues, something that would not be the case if the fracture was still a problem. When I first got the injury, I similarly tried to run through it (without knowing what it was) and it hurt so bad I couldn't go more than 100 yards. So you should go by feel of course, but definitely get the conformation from the MRI or bone scan. Then take it SLOW.

I did multiple runs through the pain. Thanks for the advice Clueless

Hey I was reading through this thread and I really feel for you guys. I can only imagine the frustration of wanting to get back on your feet and not knowing when to come back or how hard to push.

I don't really have any medical advice, but I do know that this gentleman--

http://www.teamusaminnesota.org/athlete_bio.asp?id=18

--has had many stress fractures during many stages of his career and still been quite successful, so there is hope.

Very old thread I know, but it came up in a search. I have been suffering with a tibial stress fracture, and have been out for around 8 weeks now (although I have been silly and tried to come back too early at around 4 weeks...). I didnt feel pain when I did a 15minute run, but when I 'knock' on the area I had it, there is still some pain. Is this just from the new bone growth? and is it safe to run?