I finally got my MRI on my groin area, which has disabled me from running for almost two months now. I was expecting maybe a torn labrum, but I hear that I actually have a stress fracture in that region. I'm not sure what to make of this. I guess I basically have to continue being sedentary, which is quite irritating. Who knows how long this thing will take to heal?
stress fractures in the hips occur in women, 95% of the time
Haha, very funny. To be more exact, it's in my hip region. Possibly at the tip of the femur. But I don't know for sure yet, because I haven't heard the diagnosis first-hand from the doctor yet.
i had a stress REACTION at the head of the femur and I was fine after taking 23 days off...
an actual fracture is probably a different ball of wax though...
i also took a crapload of calcium pills, and cut back on coffee (caffeine may block calcium absorption)
i had a triple stress fracture in my sacrum...which is like the back hip/spine area and i was out 4 a good 8 weeks...not fun, just make sure u let those rest cuz if u try running on it and it gets worse ur screwed
Yeah, apparently it is in the top of my femur. I have been doing some other cardio-work here and there, like biking, jump-rope and some swimming. It doesn't hurt to do these things really, but the injury is not getting better. When you guys say, "rest", do you mean a completely sedentary rest? Basically, should I cut down on all physical activity? Also, that caffiene factoid is interesting. I do drink a lot of coffe, so I'm starting to wonder now. Thanks for the help.
yes, completely rest! those things you are doing like jumping rope (are u serious?) are keeping you from healing.
If something does not cause you pain during or soon after the activity, you are probably safe to do it. Again, I am no MD, but I hope to become one some day. I'll just act as an arm-chair doc for now. What has your doctor suggested you do? I would think that the least you could do is range-of-motion stuff.
Jumping rope?!? I really hope that you are kidding on this one. I had a stress fracture in my middle femur, and the doctors didn't want me doing anything for 6 weeks. That included walking, and I was put on crutches. Just the quad muscle contracting around the femur bone was enough to keep the bone from healing.
If your fracture is in the neck of the femur, near the hip, then you need to be extremely careful. If for some reason you loose blood supply to the hip socket, you could be looking at a hip replacement. Not trying to scare you, but look up avascular necrosis.
I'd recommend talking to your doctor about what your activity level should be. I'd think that they'd have you at least on crutches. I wouldn't even ride the bike with it if I were you. You could possibly swim, maybe you'd even want to swim with the pull-buoy so that you aren't using your legs. But you need to make getting healthy your number one priority when it comes to training.
When you are coming back keep patient, and remember that the pool can be your friend.
I don't know that it's quite so serious that I need to be on crutches. I realize jumping rope is pretty stupid considering what I have, but it didn't really hurt if I came down on both feet together. If I jumped on just the one leg, it would feel pretty awful. I guess my problem is that I can't stand being inactive. I feel like I have to do something; I guess I'm just stubborn. Anyways, I'm meeting with the orthopedic surgeon on Friday to discuss this further.
Dude, believe me, you don't want to screw with a stress fracture in your femur. Doctors told me that if it is in the neck, then it is really difficult to heal. And if it doesn't heal properly, the blood supply to the tip of your femur can be jeopardized, and the bone can actually start to die. Then they are talking hip replacements and the like.
My fracture was further down the shaft of the femur, but they said that if I did anything and it actually broke, then there would have to be surgery and pins and all kinds of nastiness. The crutches were to help it heal faster. I didn't think that I needed them either, but the doctors were pretty adamant about using them. I got to the point where standing up caused my femur to hurt, but I was walking on it up until the doctors ordered me an MRI, and I was running on it just a few days before that.
Hey, do what ever you want, but I'd advice against jumping, hoping, skipping, bouncing, or bounding anytime soon.
Believe me, it sucked having to take 2 months off from training, but it's a lot better than the alternative. The more patient you are now, the more it will pay off later.
I just started running a few weeks ago after suffering a SF in the neck of my femur, so near where yours is, I think. I was crutches for 5 weeks, at which point I was aqua-jogging, stationary biking on very light settings, and swimming. After getting off crutches, I was still cross-training for 4-5 weeks. This seemed to work well. I've actually built my mileage fairly quickly, and so far my leg has been okay. Definitely see a good orthopedist. You should think about getting on crutches for a while, and ask your doc about getting a bone stimulator. Meanwhile, you should be okay doing zero-impact cross-training. But for the love of God - DO NOT JUMP ROPE! Hope your recovery goes well.
Well, you guys were right. I just learned today that my Orthopedist wants to put me on crutches for a good period of time. This certainly sucks. He gave me the whole talk about how it could turn into necrosis or something. And to think, I have been doing stupid stuff on this leg for the past two months without any knowledge of its severity. Apparently swimming is something I'll have to become accustomed to, despite that fact that I don't enjoy it very much.