Continuous Stress Fractures

What shoes do you train in? Race in? What surfaces do you run on and what percentage of your weekly mileage do you do on each surface? What type of foot strike do you have? How consistently/long are you able to hold a training level around 70 mpw?

I train in the Brooks Adrenaline, race in Asics-DS RAcers and Adizero Mana. I tend to run on hard dirt/clay trails, and usually on sunday for my recovery runs tend to run on grass. I do as much as i can 75 to 80% on those surfaces, maybe more just depends on where I do my long run at.

I am a forefoot stryker, the heels of all my shoes are like now, i tend to run on my forefoot/outside. I know that defeats the purpose of the support, however if I dont have support in my shoes my knees tend to give me problems.

I will hold 70+ for 3 wks, then come down for a wk, then back up, but over those 3 wks I can feel my shins starting to get more and more sore to the point that it really bothers me to walk.

I am just at a loss for whatelse to do!

I can only guess that it would be

A. training surface

B. You run too fast on easy days

continual

I try to run as easy as I can on my recovery days, I have slowed myself down to 7:15's or so, from my normal 6:40 pace or faster. Idk as I am sure you all know it just gets frustraing!

Why not slow yourself down to 8 or 9 minute miles and really recover? Run hard on hard days and butt ass slow on easy days.

You road guys kill me.

Get compression socks. Get over the vanity part of them and try them. Stress fractures and lower leg bone and tissue problems were made for me. 13 years from age 19-32 I had every conceivable bone and tissue problem you could imagine in my lower leg. Don't wear orthotics, I did for 8 years and constantly had problems. What do u have to lose? I live in Eugene and trained on trails as soft as anywhere and literally never ran on pavement. I still had lower leg bone problems. It was like getting my life back for me. If you are serious about running, then try them. I even use multiple pairs of them and it absorbs some of the shock that the lower legs take. Good luck to you.

1. low vitamin d

2. low estrogen (if you're a girl which it doesn't sound like you are)

3. not everyone is meant to train the same way. maybe you need to train in a way that compliments your body (injuries included) and its abilities

Up your calories and get more recovery...or both. stress fractures are usually the result of poor nutrition or lack of recovery.

lower your mileage and add pool running to make up for the running missed.

Your problem seems two-fold from a bio-mechanical standpoint. Lets break it down:

1) You wear a shoe that is made for over pronators however you strike on the outside of the foot.

--- It seems like the shoe is providing too much support for your stride, if you need any at all.

2) Your knees hurt when you dont wear the shoes.

--- This is where the bio-mechanical point comes in. Your lower extremity works as a whole, so if one thing is off, everything will be thrown off. From reading your posts,i am assuming you dont do any core work. By core i also mean working on the muscles in your hip. One of the main stabilizers when you run, is the gleutus medis. It controls external rotation. If you have a weak gletus medis, this cause your knees to cave in causing an abnormal stress there, also working down to your ankle and causing excessive pronation.

Try working on your core.

Appreciate the feed back...

I have some compression socks, beleive me wearing short shorts and compression shorts has thrown the whole vanity issue out the door..so i will give the comrpession socks a try...

I am really trying to eat a healthier diet, and have increased fruits and vegetable and decreased junk food...although nothing takes the place of some good ice cream! estrogen prob isnt the problem as i am a guy, haha.

I worked for one of the top running stores in the country and know i like to think that the shoes were right, but will see if I can get someone to do some evaluation of my running form and mechanics.

During my lay off from running I am doing weights and core...I also am back on my bike and swimming, so i am hoping that this will help...never had issues when I did other stuff other then just running...

maybe i need to face the fact that i need 1 to 2 days off a week to bike or swim? just frustrating when your trying to run a 1:12 1/2 and sub 2:45 marathon! Is it possible to hit those goals with 60-68 mile weeks, where I know i am safe? I have a slow 5k pr of 15:50, and 1/2 marathon pr of 1:15, but that was 6 yrs ago when I was 18 and am now 24, and know i can go faster.

Nutrition problems, possibly beyond calcium. I had recurring stress fractures due to an overall calorie deficit and eating very, very little protein. My bone density was in the normal range but I had 3 stress fractures and two stress reactions in three years.

Also all my shin problems stopped when I switched to a lighter shoe with far less cushioning. (Asics GT-2130 to Mizuno Wave Riders)

Start working with a dietitian.

start mainlining milk

get a blood test and a bone density test. Stop overstriding and land directly under your hips. Focus on having your turnover around 180 strides per minute on your easy runs. When you run faster, your turnover will increase

So, just curious what makes it the top running store in the country and by what store.

So what did they do to put you in the adrenaline series. Granted, the shoe is getting better with the DNA addition to it, but how do you know its the right shoe for you.

I also work in a running store.

To point out one thing of the adrenaline series, the shoe is pretty heavy duty have more support than a average stability shoe and also carries a lot of weight which could also be contributing to the problem.

Now, this isnt to say that you need a minimalist shoe, however with the latest reasearch out there, it has been supporting the theory less is more. So please, go indepth onto your body type, wt, shoe wear pattern of your gts, and how you were fit for them. It all factors in.

My question is if your stress fracture ever really heals. How long do you take off whenever you get one?

It could be physiological, in that your bones are not able to take a normal amount of stress, which would ultimately be related to mineral balance as others have mentioned.

It could also be some sort of overuse itself, such as you are impacting the ground with too much force, placing too much torsion on your tibia, etc. That may be from a muscle imbalance, neuromuscular control issue, or training equipment / surface.