I am a 20 yr old collegiate female distance runner with osteopenia in my lumbar spine (diagnosed with DEXA). I was diagnosed with a sacral stress fracture in March, but have dealt with a few stress fractures in my years as a runner.
I was running 35-40 miles tops when I got injured, but usually run between 30-35 miles with supplemental cross training.
Obviously, this isn't a ton of mileage for a collegiate 10k runner, so it's not like the mileage broke my sacrum. Additionally, sacral stress fractures and osteopenia are common in the Female Athlete Triad, along with irregular menstrual cycles and eating disorders. However, I've never had an eating disorder and have never been underweight. My period has always been regular.
I am 5'6, 129 lbs. I eat a good range of foods and am now taking Calcium/Vitamin D supplements as well as fish oil, and I am on birth control pills.
Anyone have any idea of what else could be the cause of my issues, or what I can do to fix them? Any advice would help.
Thanks
*Separate question: anyone dealing with sacral stress fractures have pain in the area well after the healing period? I started running again and had no pain for a while then all of a sudden I started experiencing some pain again - not the same pain as when it was first injured but some aches and occasional sharp pains