Persistent Tibial Stress Reaction: Do I need a major break?

frustrated by injury wrote:

leave thoughtful answers because I am in a tough spot right now.

LOL

frustrated by injury wrote:

Thank you all for taking the time to read this, and please leave thoughtful answers because I am in a tough spot right now.

"Thoughtful answers?"....on LRC? You're kidding...right? 😁 😅😄

First off, if you are still experiencing intense pain from the stress fractures and reactions, DO NOT continue running as it is likely they have not healed fully, and running on them will either prevent healing or cause the bones to heal back in an abnormal way.

1. I would contact your coach or the running camp staff to see if they have a pool or bikes available, or if they do not ask to see if you can bring your own. If it is a respectable camp, they will incorporate aquajogging/swim cross training into the session anyway and you can opt for this mostly. If you can bring a bike, you can bike with your team and boom, still team bonding while not breaking yourself.

2. This is a very tough question as every runner is different. If you make sure you are eating enough (and preferably a little more than enough - excess weight can be lost later, bone cannot be regrown as easily) and having as little stress to the injured areas as possible it is likely you will be considering how much time you have already taken off.

3. If you work your ass off cross training in the pool while you cannot run, I can tell you from experience you can come back stronger and faster than if you had been running. If you can't get in the pool, get on a bicycle. Running well junior year is important, but nowhere near as important as allowing yourself to be healthy in the future.

4. No. It is not worth it. Continuing to run through pain will cause you to either a) have a terrible season anyway and you'll wish you had taken off, b) cause your stress fractures to heal back incorrectly and its possible you'll never run well again because of it, or c) alter your running form to avoid pain and end up developing more injuries because of this.

So yes, you need a major break. But don't sweat it because the locations of your injuries will make it easy to cross train and stay in shape and get in better shape.

Thank you 5to10kbear.

I was expecting trolls, but jesus why can't you people go vent your frustration at your sad little lives on the "Obummer Hussein" threads or something and leave me alone. I'm asking a real question.

This is really good advice. My daughter just came back from a metatarsal stress fracture, and while she is back to running, she's still incorporating pool running and arc trainer workouts into her summer running training program. She's not doing speed work until mid-summer so she can build her base first. This first few runs were a little rough just because she didn't run for 8 weeks. She ran on the alter g at PT starting at 7.5 weeks, and got to 100% body weight pretty fast because she took that time off and let the injury heal. Pain has to be your guide. Listen to your body. Pool running is great if you push yourself in the water.

Injured runners have to work twice as hard to keep fitness, but the reward is great when you come back stronger. Don't rush it, running is one of the few lifetime sports...

frustrated by injury wrote:

Thank you 5to10kbear.

I was expecting trolls, but jesus why can't you people go vent your frustration at your sad little lives on the "Obummer Hussein" threads or something and leave me alone. I'm asking a real question.

boo hoo i'm so frustrated

I've been in the same boat, dude. You need a break.

1. Go to the camp, take a bike. You'll get some fitness, and at least you'll get to be with your team.

2. Probably. I'm sure you've learned by now that you have to go day-by-day with these things.

3. Unless you're going for early acceptance, your senior XC season will determine your place on the team. Take your rest and gear up for a stellar senior year.

4. You need the rest now. You'll have more rest for those 3-4 weeks, but that won't kill your fitness. You should treat this XC and indoor season as a long base, and try to do well in track. You never know, you may somehow put up some great times in junior year track and then have more options for college.

This article helps to dispel some myths associated with stress reactions.

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

I feel like I've been doing "recovery" from a femur stress fx going on 7 months now. Aquajogging and cycling helps bigtime. I'm doing 10 miles a week outdoors and probably 4-5 hours pool running in addition to cross training. That'll keep the fitness up until you're cleared to run/walk.

I've got a plan to cross train for the next 2 months - it'll be about 10hrs a week, and aerobically equivalent to about 70mpw, which is close to what I wanted to run.

Another question: Will it hurt my healing if I did 5x50 all out on a soft track or grass once a week? I don't want to lose all my speed while I'm stuck crosstraining.

frustrated by injury wrote:

I've got a plan to cross train for the next 2 months - it'll be about 10hrs a week, and aerobically equivalent to about 70mpw, which is close to what I wanted to run.

Another question: Will it hurt my healing if I did 5x50 all out on a soft track or grass once a week? I don't want to lose all my speed while I'm stuck crosstraining.

Running all out while you heal two stress reactions, even for those short bouts, is a bad idea. Look. Being injured sucks. My daughter missed the chance at state this spring as a junior in track because of a stress fracture. She was pissed, her coach was sad, I was sad for her... it happens and it really sucks. We're all runners here, so we get your frustration.

You gotta start thinking long term and stop thinking about the short term. If you cross train like a mad man, allow your stress reactions to heal, you will come back and you will do well. We had a senior male on our school's XC team develop a stress fracture in his metatarsal in August... pool ran until October, then PR'ed his second race back, just in time for the post season. He made it to state as our #1 runner and went on to have a great senior year track season as well.

You will come back stronger if you're patient and work hard at cross training until those heal. No testing it out, just take your break now so you're not out all season, or even worse, your post season.

frustrated by injury wrote:

I've got a plan to cross train for the next 2 months - it'll be about 10hrs a week, and aerobically equivalent to about 70mpw, which is close to what I wanted to run.

Another question: Will it hurt my healing if I did 5x50 all out on a soft track or grass once a week? I don't want to lose all my speed while I'm stuck crosstraining.

Keep in mind non-impact training is only worth 40% of running fitness if you go by time. 10 hours a week of non-impact equals about 4 hours a week of running, which with your level of fitness is about 35mpw.

Does a rising junior mean you'll be a senior this coming XC season?

Ida Mann wrote:

frustrated by injury wrote:

I've got a plan to cross train for the next 2 months - it'll be about 10hrs a week, and aerobically equivalent to about 70mpw, which is close to what I wanted to run.

Another question: Will it hurt my healing if I did 5x50 all out on a soft track or grass once a week? I don't want to lose all my speed while I'm stuck crosstraining.

Keep in mind non-impact training is only worth 40% of running fitness if you go by time. 10 hours a week of non-impact equals about 4 hours a week of running, which with your level of fitness is about 35mpw.

Does a rising junior mean you'll be a senior this coming XC season?

Rising junior means that I am going to be a junior this upcoming year, as opposed to saying I am a sophomore now.

Also, as far as I know, cross training and running are 100% equivalent AEROBICALLY when you compare heart rate, but obviously running helps with running economy and mechanics in a way that cross training can't.

frustrated by injury wrote:

Ida Mann wrote:

Keep in mind non-impact training is only worth 40% of running fitness if you go by time. 10 hours a week of non-impact equals about 4 hours a week of running, which with your level of fitness is about 35mpw.

Does a rising junior mean you'll be a senior this coming XC season?

Rising junior means that I am going to be a junior this upcoming year, as opposed to saying I am a sophomore now.

Also, as far as I know, cross training and running are 100% equivalent AEROBICALLY when you compare heart rate, but obviously running helps with running economy and mechanics in a way that cross training can't.

You know not what you speak of and it sounds like you'd prefer not to see the truth. Good luck.

frustrated by injury wrote:

Also, as far as I know, cross training and running are 100% equivalent AEROBICALLY when you compare heart rate, but obviously running helps with running economy and mechanics in a way that cross training can't.

The idea is to let the bone heal, otherwise you're going to screw yourself down the road. If you come back early, you'll pay for it. The cross training is to keep your fitness level up while you let the bone heal - mechanics and running shouldn't be on your radar for the next 6 weeks. Then you start walk/run. We all know your impulse is to get back to work - we've all been there - but sometimes you have to learn to love being injured. Take the next few weeks, aquajog, read books and bike ride. Avoid the elliptical and treadmill. Work on core and stretching.

Karl Hungus wrote:

frustrated by injury wrote:

Also, as far as I know, cross training and running are 100% equivalent AEROBICALLY when you compare heart rate, but obviously running helps with running economy and mechanics in a way that cross training can't.

The idea is to let the bone heal, otherwise you're going to screw yourself down the road. If you come back early, you'll pay for it. The cross training is to keep your fitness level up while you let the bone heal - mechanics and running shouldn't be on your radar for the next 6 weeks. Then you start walk/run. We all know your impulse is to get back to work - we've all been there - but sometimes you have to learn to love being injured. Take the next few weeks, aquajog, read books and bike ride. Avoid the elliptical and treadmill. Work on core and stretching.

Just curious? Why can't I use the elliptical? I feel like you're giving me the 6 weeks no weight bearing mantra, but I've already been through that. I can walk with no pain, and I got out of the boot a month ago. I'm game for no elliptical, but it seems a bit extreme...

Also, you misunderstood my point about the mechanics and economy. I was trying to counter the poster who said that 100min of Xtraining is only worth 40min of running. I've looked on literally every other thread on this site and that's totally wrong.

frustrated by injury wrote:

Just curious? Why can't I use the elliptical? I feel like you're giving me the 6 weeks no weight bearing mantra, but I've already been through that. I can walk with no pain, and I got out of the boot a month ago. I'm game for no elliptical, but it seems a bit extreme...

According to my physician spouse and my orthopedic guy, there's a lot of shear and bending forces going on in the bone when you use the elliptical - and it keeps inflaming the site of the stress reaction.

frustrated by injury wrote:

Also, you misunderstood my point about the mechanics and economy. I was trying to counter the poster who said that 100min of Xtraining is only worth 40min of running. I've looked on literally every other thread on this site and that's totally wrong.

Are you really trying to be obtuse and piss off everyone who's trying to give you advice so you don't waste the rest of the year injured?

It's really hard to convince athletes at this age that taking a step back really is the right thing to do for long term success. They think high school or college is their only opportunity to shine. It's not. No matter what cross training you do, you will lose some running fitness. Being young though, you'll get it back quickly.

OP, you came here asking for advice, and you got good advice. What you do with it is your choice, but I hope you make the wise decision to back off and let your two stress reactions heal.

frustrated by injury wrote:

Also, you misunderstood my point about the mechanics and economy. I was trying to counter the poster who said that 100min of Xtraining is only worth 40min of running. I've looked on literally every other thread on this site and that's totally wrong.

You have not looked on literally every other thread or anywhere close to it otherwise you'd realize you are in fact "totally wrong".

You do not have the experience needed to understand this, which is totally reasonable. The problem is you're lacking in clarity due to the fact you are seeing what you want to see in hopes the future will come out as you are expecting it to.

Ask yourself this much, if time spent running is equivalent to time spent on the bike or in the pool, then why aren't cyclists and swimmers dramatically stronger aerobic athletes than runners? Why is it that top runners are often running in the 10-12 hour range per week while top cyclists and swimmers are often in the saddle or in the water for 25-30 hours a week?

There is no good running-specific cross training available to a runner who can not handle impact. Everything will be a major compromise and you will lose fitness. You can take the time to become a better athlete instead and then within 6-12 weeks of being able to run again you'll probably be ahead of where you were.