Fitness post 7 weeks off for stress fracture

My honest heartfelt advice would be to skip outdoors. Just run by yourself for 2-6 mile steady runs over the spring, avoid tempos and speed work until next xc season. Get some help in the weightroom and do some very light olympic lifting to improve core and build up bone/ muscular strength.Stress fractures have a tendency to happen again if you return to intense distance training too soon.

More importantly, have you changed diet or seen a decent doctor about possible reasons for stress fracture? While you were training pretty aggressively for a hs freshmen, stress fractures are generally a sign of bone strength insufficiency rather than actual "overuse". Taking calcium/ magnesium/ vitamin D supplements is recommended to ensure bones have minerals needed to grow.

I had two femoral stress fractures in college, had to quit competitive running and was later diagnosed with lone bone density/osteoporosis in my mid 20s. Not trying to scare you but just suggesting you take it easy and try to build up your core strength. You have plenty of time left to train for distance running. it sounds like you've got talent, don't waste it. Let your body recover and do some strength work before hitting the roads again.

First off, thank you very much for responding. It makes sense to me to not race or really run intensely during outdoor to ensure I can have a strong sophomore year. One of the key things that was making me nervous about outdoor is that if it would do more harm than good to try and run a strong outdoor season. I was nervous if I was looking to for ahead and not living in the present.

My diet did not change at all. I eat what I believe is quite balanced and healthy. I was eating solely whole grains with lots of different vegetables and fruits as well as lean meat. It does appear to lack calcium, my parents did not want me supplementing to much into my diet. What i was able to take was magnesium, iron (previously anemic), and fish oil along with a multi-vitamin. Currently i am taking plenty of calcium (in a calc, mag, D supplement).

As far as returning to running, aside from going by pain is there any best way to get started once I am cleared from the doctor? Would it make sense to still be a part of the team by showing up to practice? Our team is quite close and will be working towards a XC state title next year. I understand I wouldn't be doing exactly what they are doing but it would still be valuable to do, say, drills, core and strength with them?

A side note I had forgot to add in my previous post that my training background prior to XC had been somewhat decent I believe. I had been partially coached by an older,experienced NCAA D1 all-american steepler who coaches at what was going to be my highschool in Arizona prior to my cross country move.

What I had been doing from April to August before I began training with my current coach was 50-60 mpw mostly basework, nothing really faster than 5:45. I had been training for HM (didn't realize my coach had pushed me to HM for the base it would make until later) from April to August and ended up with a sad blow-up race in awful weather, which is beside the point.

The stress fracture definitely came as a very big surprise because of what I had previously been doing. I started distance running seriously early February and went from 20 mpw to 50 mpw quite quickly with no injury. So basically until this point I had assumed that I was immune to a stress fracture or shin splints unless I made ridiculous jumps in mileage.

When I came back the first time I started off with 400 meter jog. Over the course of two weeks I built up to two miles. Its not about how far you CAN run, its about how far you SHOULD run. After getting up to two miles I ran 4 or 5 days a week for 30 mins and lifted weights. I didn't keep track of my pace and just ran at moderate pace. By summer time I was pretty much able to resume normal summer xc base work and ran well during early season XC before getting run down and eventually getting another stress fracture.

My problems were related more to poor overall health/diet, college partying, and possibly some fairly significant ankle sprains that may have thrown off my stride. I was/ am extremely skinny at 6' 2" -145 lbs racing weight. At that extreme skinny is not good, even for distance running. You don't have to be big but an extra five pounds of bone and lean muscle can go a long way in preventing injury.

Good news for you, tibial stress fractures are not considered quite as serious or indicative of systemic health problems the way femoral stress fractures are.

Still, for this season, as much as it might suck, I would just do weight work with team and occasionally travel to meet if you can to cheer on your team. You might get some insight into training/ coaching this way too if you act as a manager.

In terms of diet, as long as you are getting basic supplementation and don't have any food allergies I would focus on getting plenty of protein (good steak cuts, salmon, tuna, chicken along with healthy fats avocados, peanut butter, etc. Looking back on my hs diet I ate way too much pasta and not enough meat.

If you are able to train and stay healthy, your base fitness will return within six to eight weeks. It may take longer than that to get championship season sharp but staying healthy and long training cycles are way more important than rushing to pr.

Google Matt Tegenkamp or Dathan Ritzenheim to get some info on runners who have dealt with stress fractures and continued to run successfully. Some people will blast Ritzenheim for being injury prone but he has kept with it for almost 15 years now.

Good luck.

Thank you for your help. I'm glad you gave an idea of how to come back, I was unsure and was planning on coming back at 15 mpw and moving up fairly quickly. Hopefully I can get back on track and have a good XC season.

Today I went to a running related orthopedic doctor who took an x-ray to re-evaluate my leg. What he said was very alarming.

After taking the x -rays and examining them he showed them to me and emphasized the excess bone now gathering there. He said because of it being a high tibial stress fracture I need to take 6 more weeks off in a up-to-the-knee boot. The alarming part about all of this was that he said i can now only train for the rest of my life 35 mpw max. I was very confused and he would not answer my questions on how my bones at previously handled the same stress of mpw. I was quite emotional about what I felt was me being condemned to never run to my potential. My mother was there for all of this and will be making sure I don't really ever run much again. I am very unsure what to do now...

Find a new doctor!!!

If the orthopedic surgeon believes you still have an active stress fracture I would wear the boot for the six weeks. I'm surprised you weren't put in a boot or crutches to begin with but what's done is done.

That being said, and acknowledging that I am not a doctor what he says regarding future training doesn't seem to make much sense.

First off, an x-ray is not considered a definitive diagnostic tool for stress fractures. having been treated for stress fractures the preferred scans are an MRI, a radioactive bone scan or possibly a DEXA scan to get overall bone density.

Secondly, assigning an arbitrary number to your capacity for training is ridiculous. You are 15 years old and have about a decade left to develop and increase bone strength. Whether you can handle 10 miles or 100 miles is not predictable through an x-ray.

The males I know who have had tibial stress fractures have eventually gone on to satisfying running careers. The elite runners I mentioned, Dathan Ritzenheim and Matt Tegenkamp had multiple stress fractures in their early college careers and went on to be Olympians.

My advice, wear the boot or crutches, but in the meantime seek out a true specialist who has helped other athletes return to normal training. There are some advanced prescription drugs used to increase bone density and strength but you will need to see a true specialist/ endocrinologist in order to obtain a prescription. There are conflicting views on whether these drugs are helpful to athletes but they are out here. Stay calm, take a long view of things and good luck-

Agreed - get another opinion - doesn't sound correct.

"Its not about how far you CAN run, its about how far you SHOULD run."

This is about the best advice you'll find, he/she is 100% right. Listen to this LR Poster.

Thank you all for taking the time to respond and help me out. I will find another doctor to reevaluate my leg. For the time being I will just continue cross training and focus what i can control at the moment and letting everything heal so that I can hopefully go on to have a successful XC season sophomore year.