stress reaction

i had what they considered a minor stress reaction. i took 17 days off of no running(i did a minimum of 60min of pool running/bike a day. often close to 80min). when i started back they told me that i would have set backs, but over the course of 3-4 weeks the pain would clear up. so...

i started back for a week, just 15-25min a day and by friday had discomfort again, so this time i took another complete week off from running. came back trying to do 2 days of 20-25min and then a rest day. this held up for a week until i had discomfort again. this time i just took the weekend off and then came back and ran 25-30min the next week each day until friday. each day i had discomfort but it would eventually subside as i got 10-15min into the run. took the weekend off, then came back he next week with 35min runs until friday. took the weekend off and then came back the next week running 40min a day with less discomfort then the week before. i threw in an easy workout that thursday and then went easy that fri. took the weekend off and then came back the next week in very little discomfort, added in a solid workout, and by the next week had very little to no discomfort. and now im in the present, with still very little discomfort, but still gettting better by the week while still adding mileage and intensity.

basically if you want the reaction to heal completely you need about 4 weeks of solid rest, unlike my 2.5weeks which didnt do the job. if you kill the cross training you will maintin your fitness, i can assure you that. you will feel a little rusty coming back, but things will go back to normal. Bottomline is it can be a bit of a process if your trying to save your season while trying to heal. The bone actually needs a certin about of pounding to actually heal itself properly. If you get discomfort dont be affraid its coming back, you just need to back off for 1-2days and then go back to what you were doing before. eventually it will be longer and longer befoe you need to back.

im begining to ramble, but i think the best thing to do is take the 4 weeks off, and work hard in the pool and on the bike as well as core exercise, dont feel sorry for yourself. if you feel anything after your rest period is over dont be scared, just adjust, stick to soft surfaces and let it readjust.

you should be fine....take some calcium suppliments too.

peace out...let me kno how it goes for ya.

i just suffered a stress reaction in my left shin after too many miles on pavement vs. trails, which i prefer. i ran one more day to see if it was really something to worry about, and realized it was pretty serious after feeling multiple sharp pains on a 10 mile run saturday (having to stop and massage just to continue). i then took a grand total of one day off sunday, and then ran 8 miles monday and 10 miles today. so i'll go with one day rest if you catch it early. the other guy is either easily dissuaded by pain, or just hyper-safe. i currently run 60 miles per week in singles, fyi, and am 43, so i should break easier than you younger bucks.

by the way, i just max out the I.C.E. principle at night, elevate on my desk at work, and use some myoflex or something to warm up the area prior to running.

if you take 4 weeks off for every injury you suffer, like the other guy said, then, of course, you will be healthy upon returning. but who doesn't run injured? if you take 4 weeks off every time you get a twinge here or stress reaction there, how are you ever going to get fit?

Try getting an aircast. It should allow it to heal completely in 3 weeks given that it immobilizes everything surrounding the injury.

However, limping around in one could screw up your gait, so keep that in mind.

http://www.aircast.com/index.asp/fuseaction/products.detail/cat/2/id/76

I haven't used this particular one, but I've used something similar.

If not, crutches can also be useful. The more impact you can avoid the better. Pool running is generally the best way to x-train.

terps...your sure a f***ing expert. did you ever consider there are different levels of stress reactions?? oh im def easily dissuaded by pain you dumbass. you can have a stress reaction that is no more then shin splints, and you can have a stress reaction that is borderline stress fracture. fyi...a stress fracture is when your bone fractures and you get an a boot for 6-8 weeks. its a bone, not a muscle, specific amounts of time off are required. hyper safe?? get a clue, stress reaction is a very broad term that can mean minimal pain to consistant pain for several days despite rest. dont be so self centered to think what you have is the end all of stress reactions.

Wow, I think I touched a nerve, or uncovered a deep-seated self-doubt. Considering the Op stated, "If you catch a stress reaction early whats the minimum time you can be out of running . . . " (sic), I gave him my answer, based on "catching it early." You, et al., had the guy in an air cast, out for 4-plus weeks, stressing (no pun intended) out over a potential stress fracture, while still "catching it early." Given your advice, I would not have run the 48 joyful miles I just completed Mon-Fri. My Saturday run was very, very bad, multiple sharp pains in the shin, after a previous build up of your typical "stress reaction" or "shin splint" or potential "stress fracture" or whatever it is or was, given that I am a lawyer, not a doctor. I took one day off, and, voila, 48 more miles under my belt. I'm just trying to give the OP another way of looking at life, my friend. You, on the other hand, would have him racking up his health insurance copays, and getting a massage and a pedicure at the local salon every time he felt the slightest discomfort.

amen to that.

you'd be surprised what you can run through.

you'd also be surprised at how paranoid one bad injury can make you. i had a stress fracture and for a while after i healed i wouldn't run unless everything felt perfect, i was so scared of getting another one.

then i manned up and just started running through aches and twinges. no harm done.

the key is knowing when you can run through it, and when to back off. this takes experience, intelligence, and intuition.

most times you can just run through it though...

I recommend erring on the side of safety. I am currently trying to rehab a stress reaction in my ankle. I was originally diagnosed with a soft tissue injury in the fall, but it never got better even though I reduced mileage, cut out all speed work, and eventually stopped running completely for a few weeks. Then I had an MRI was diagnosed with a stress reaction, and here I am, still not able to run months later. This has nothing to do with pain tolerance or being a wussy. I could go for a run today, but I know that within a week I'll be hobbling again, just like I did all through December and January. Coincidentally, a buddy of mine suffered a metatarsal stress fracture right after Thanksgiving. Six weeks in an air cast and he's running easy now.

If you eff up your bone, you're going to have to take some serious time off. Don't think you can just "man up" and run through a stress reaction or stress fracture.

I agree with erring on the side of safety. I am currently in week 6 of 8 with no running, elliptical, stairmaster or lower leg weights at all. It's tedious and frustrating but unfortunately I am recovering from a serious stress reaction in my femoral neck region.

The point I'm making is this. It's not necessarily about how much you can run through. It has more to do with where the reaction / fracture is located and the severity of the injury. Certain metatarsals are worse than others in terms of potential complications and certain areas are truly dangerous to try and run through ( femur being one of them ). So just check around and be careful..

I have a metatarsal stress reaction. The pain started 2 weeks ago; I haven't run in 2 weeks. I'm wearing a boot, working out on the elliptical and suffering!! I am supposed to run Boston in the EWS in 3 weeks. Before the injury I was running 70 miles a week, and feeling very strong and fast. Will I lose this fitness? Will I be able to run a strong marathon with all this time off? AND when can I take my foot out for a test drive? I'm so scared about a set back, as it's feeling so much better. Or perhaps Boston's out; I just don't know.

I just had a bone scan today, and there is a huge black spot on my femur. Nothing showed up on the Xray, and the MRI was inconclusive, showing a spot, but not enough to rule on what it is. With the bone scan it's definitely some kind of stress reaction or mild stress fracture. I see an orthopedist tomorrow to get his take on things, but there's no mistaking what's on the bone scan. A blind man in a dark room could see the spot on the picture.

I was supposed to be running Boston too. I was like you, running about 60-70 miles per week, some a little higher. I had just run a 1:13 half marathon in training, I was hoping to be around 2:35 or 2:36.

I took the last 11 days off and have been working out in the pool water running and also on the bike cycling.

Does anyone have any experience with something like this? I had a full blown stress fracture last year in this same femur, and I was on crutches for 2 months, and it took me about 6 months to get back to feeling like a runner again, doing about 40-50 miles per week. Does anyone have an approximate idea on how long a stress reaction in the femur will take to heal? Am I doing any disservice by pool running or biking? It's starting to get nice out, and I don't want to screw my entire summer by not being patient now. I've pretty much come to the conclusion that Boston is out of the picture, but would a race sometime toward the end of may or early june be stretching my luck?

Thanks, and good luck to the rest of you.

I just had a bone scan today, and there is a huge black spot on my femur. Nothing showed up on the Xray, and the MRI was inconclusive, showing a spot, but not enough to rule on what it is. With the bone scan it's definitely some kind of stress reaction or mild stress fracture. I see an orthopedist tomorrow to get his take on things, but there's no mistaking what's on the bone scan. A blind man in a dark room could see the spot on the picture.

I was supposed to be running Boston too. I was like you, running about 60-70 miles per week, some a little higher. I had just run a 1:13 half marathon in training, I was hoping to be around 2:35 or 2:36.

I took the last 11 days off and have been working out in the pool water running and also on the bike cycling.

Does anyone have any experience with something like this? I had a full blown stress fracture last year in this same femur, and I was on crutches for 2 months, and it took me about 6 months to get back to feeling like a runner again, doing about 40-50 miles per week. Does anyone have an approximate idea on how long a stress reaction in the femur will take to heal? Am I doing any disservice by pool running or biking? It's starting to get nice out, and I don't want to screw my entire summer by not being patient now. I've pretty much come to the conclusion that Boston is out of the picture, but would a race sometime toward the end of may or early june be stretching my luck?

Thanks, and good luck to the rest of you.

thank god for letsrun, everything else on the internet is useless re: running injuries. got diagnosed with a stress reaction today after an mri... lower left tibia. i have had shin discomfort for over 18 months now, even when i take time off. i'm going to go the "easy route" and take 6 weeks off.... i suppose if i was in shape right now i would agree a little more with terps, but since i'm 20 lbs over racing weight and looking now to get back into training, i'll take the full rest.

couple home remedies my doctor (who i think is pretty good) told me today:

rubbing/massaging a piece of ice on the bone

rolling pin lightly up and down the muscle near the bone

good luck, keep me posted on your progress

Doctors recommend that if you have a hip stress reaction, you should not take that likely. As a poster said above, there are different degrees of bone stress reactions from shin splints or thigh splints to out and out fractures across the whole width of the bone. If this happens in the hip, it could tear a blood vessel that carries blood to the top of your femur. If starved of blood, that bone will die and you will need an artificial hip. Follow your own doctor's advice.

who likes running on the crete more than trails? that is probably the oddest thing i have ever heard!

Hey I just read your post I know it’s super old but I have a stress reaction in my navicular. I like the sound of your rehab plan . Just wondering how you are now and while healing with a stress reaction do you have pain while coming back from a little time off ? Thanks

who likes to run on trails more than concrete? that's probably the oddest thing I have ever heard!

funny how people have their own preference eh ?

I had a stress reaction in my left tibia. The year before, I had a stress fracture, which required 6 weeks of no running.

For the stress reaction, I would wager you could get back to running after only 2 weeks off. Run slow for the 1st 2 weeks back. Here's the thing: you will likely feel some discomfort. As long as it's not bad, and it subsides as you get into the run, I think you're ok. I had phantom pains in that area when I started back. Just don't come back too fast, but I don't think you need 6 weeks off... Nothing like that, if it's not fractured.