Tibial Stress Fracture Early Symptoms

1) Legs tired.

2) Hungry more than normal.

3) A feeling that a good taper would get you a PR.

4) A post on LR about it.

Possibly more helpful.

Run your thumb down the inner part of the tibia. Is there a specific point where it's painful? Probably so if you're asking the question.

In my experience with 7 "issues" in this area (4 stress reactions, 3 stress fractures), the probability of it being a stress fracture is comprised of the following:

1) Hurt while walking? - If so, you're probably at least in the stress rxn territory.

2) If yes to #1, does ibuprofen mask the pain? If yes, then you're better off (read stress rxn) than if it just dulls the pain (stress fx).

Just my experience.

I had a couple stress fractures in high school from playing soccer. We typically played on grass, but when it rained too much we had to play indoors. The doctors said that the change in terrain may have played a part in my fractures. Also, my vitamin D levels are insanely low, which probably didn't help either.

A sharp, aching pain that's localized to an area 2 inches long or less along your tibia. Usually around 1/3 of the way up from your ankle. It will be sensitive to the touch, and there will be aching even when you aren't putting weight on it or at night is a classic stress fracture symptom. "Shin splints" or medial tibial stress syndrome is more diffuse; it tends to be spread out over several inches.

Read this article for more info:

http://runningwritings.blogspot.com/2012/05/injury-series-tibial-stress-fractures.html

But regardless you should go to an orthopedist to get it checked out. Get an MRI, as they are better at "grading" stress reactions/fractures than a bone scan. If you get lucky or catch it early, you may only have a stress reaction and won't miss as much time.

bump

adsfadsf is exactly right.

I had a very bad medial tibial stress fracture back in early 2003. I was literally hobbled. There was no f-ing question about something being very, very wrong. I never had it diagnosed, but I knew. I didn't run for 10 weeks.

I've been running ever since, but the spot has remained a problem area and every now and then a stress reaction has reared its head. The worst such stress reaction manifested as a series of "tweaks" that showed up only a couple of hundred yards into a particular midsummer run. One tweak doesn't mean much, but seven tweaks got me to stop dead and walk back to my car.

Usually four or five days off leads the stress reaction to go away and I'm fine.

I ice after EVERY SINGLE RUN. I put crushed ice in my socks for 20 minutes. If I didn't do this, I'd have a full-blown stress fracture within one week. Ice puts me together.

Now, a couple of months ago I developed a similar problem after running without orthotics for a few months and hammering some long downhills on blacktop. But the problem I developed was NOT a stress fracture, it was posterior tibial tendonitis. Someone less familar than I am might have confused the two. But here's the difference: ibuprofen noticeably helps the latter. IB doesn't do anything for a stress fracture, really, but it helps slowly put the tendonitis back to bed. That and ice. I'm finally running well after several months in the woods. (Resuming the use of orthotics helps.)

The hop test offers a pretty good differential diagnosis. If you get a sharp pain when you hop on one foot, you've probably got a stress fracture. Tendonitis is more subtle.

Heck, I can't tell you what you've got. I'll just tell you this: when you've got a full-blown tibial stress fracture, you'll know that you're messed up. And you'll stay messed up for a while.

I'll add one amen to asdfasdf's last comment: Don't be a fool. The single worst mistake I made, back when I THOUGHT I was developing that initial stress fracture, was to "make sure" by hammering three miles on the homeward leg of the run. That 20 minutes of self-indulgence--I'm not fast like you younguns--cost me 10 weeks of recovery. Because when I finished the run, I was hobbled.

The best thing you can do in ANY circumstance is the hardest thing for a runner to do: just DON'T RUN for 3-5 days. Give the problem a chance to go away. Give it a chance to figure out what it's about. Then go for a couple of half hour jogs the two days after that. See how you feel. 3-5 days of not running can work wonders in the case of stress reactions that aren't full blown stress fractures. I've learned THAT lesson. Learn how to back off. Trying to "push through" such things leads to madness and disaster. It just don't work.

Ice is a miracle drug, but it can't fix a full blown stress fracture.

Don't hammer downhills, especially on pavement and especially if they're steep. Stay off concrete. Be wary of cambered roads. Switch sides in that case; equalize the stress.

Stress fractures don't just show up for no reason. There's always a way of helping you figure out--usually when it's too late--that you were pushing things too hard on several different fronts at the same time.

Sounds like you are quite self educated. I might add that if you had sought medical advice you may have been in a boot and cut your recovery time down considerably. Something others with the same issues might consider.

This is an excellent question. I feel for you, as I understand what may be going through your mind. I had a tibial stress fracture in April of 2012, and ended up losing the rest of 2012. I know this sounds gloomy, but things did work out well. In the early stages, I was confused. I had pain on the side of my left knee. It worsened, and then I started getting pain at night while sleeping. The other key issue was the limp I acquired. I would actually be able to "work out" the limp. I would limp through the first mile or so, and the pain would lessen and I could get through three miles or so. The limp is a key sign. Likewise, an alteration of one's stride should raise an eyebrow, too.

My x-rays were negative. I thought I was in the clear...but it was not to be. Even taking "Vitamin I," the pain continued, and so I went back to the doctor. She ordered an MRI and that turned up a 2cm fracture of my upper tibia, on the side of the knee (inside part). My orthopedist said the fracture was about 90% through the bone. He said no running for two months. I complied, and took my first baby steps of running 10 or 11 weeks later. It felt "wrong." I ran a second time--it still felt wrong. My leg just did not feel the same, even though I was able to walk without pain, and I did as the doctor had directed.

On the verge of giving up running altogether, I took the rest of 2012 off. Nearly a year later, in March of 2013, I was at my local dog park with the kids, and there was a nice trail. The thought of running flashed across my mind. I said to my wife something like, "I think I will take a little run." I went for about a mile, and I felt like myself again. I was elated, but still had doubts.

Since then, things have been great. All of that time off was an excellent investment--not even a hint of pain in that tibia. I almost cannot believe that I am back running, and running under seven minutes, too. I have raced a fair amount, and, in my current training, have gone as high as 50 miles in a week. I have recently felt a similar pain in the same area of my other leg. It scared the heck out of me. X-rays are negative, and I have probably tweaked my MCL a bit. With a big race coming up I am nervous, but I should be able to race, and my fitness is very good (at least in my coach's opinion and in my opinion).

Such I why I am careful in using terms such as "hobby jogger," as one needs to be familiar with a person's background (age, gender, injuries, etc.) before making judgments about who is "running" and who is not. Thus, I wish you all the best, and exhort you to be patient and to persevere. It may be difficult, but it is doable.