Stress fractures are overuse injuries that can worsen if left untreated. Repetitive motion can put too much stress on your bones and can cause tiny cracks to develop, leading to injury. If you don’t want to be sidelined from your favorite activity or sport, Katrina Almeida, DPM, with Avera Orthopedics in Mitchell explains what you need to do to recover if you think you may have a stress fracture.
What is a stress fracture?
A stress fracture is caused by repetitive stress or outside force, so running or something like that. Where the typical fracture that we think of is usually more from an injury where I fell and twisted, or something fell on me that’s really heavy.
Can you still walk with a stress fracture?
It depends where the fracture is. You can get stress fractures in different locations. It depends which bone and how severe the actual stress fracture is and that’s something we need an X-ray and to be able to examine you to tell you fully.
What happens if you ignore it?
The more you ignore it, the higher risk of a complication and typically the longer it takes to heal. When we are addressing the stress fracture the primary goal is to mitigate or decrease whatever that stress is. If we don’t do that we can make it worse and actually take that fracture and it can get displaced or move out of place and then that results in a complication or needing a longer or more invasive treatment.
What does treatment look like?
A simple, straightforward, low risk stress fracture, typically we decrease whatever that risk is, so if it’s a new workout program we are going to have you take a step back or if it’s a specific exercise or activity we will decrease that. Usually there’s some form of immobilization. Depending on where the fracture is, what bone, how severe the fracture is, sometimes I would have to take you completely non-weight bearing or take all the weight off. Also depending on the circumstances sometimes it requires surgery if it were displaced or other factors.
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