Stress fracture?

[Robinson]

Okay have any of you had a stress fracture in your foot? What did it feel like, what if anything did you do to treat it, and how long did it take to heal?

God getting old sucks.

[Leroy Suggs]

I had one about three years ago.

Was out for my walk and all of a sudden had terrible pain in my right foot. Down the outside edge and bottom of my foot.

I had to call my wife to come get me. I couldn't walk.

Went to my ortho doc next day and he diagnosed a stress fracture and put me in a boot.

I think for six weeks. It is ok now.

[TGS]

Okay have any of you had a stress fracture in your foot? What did it feel like, what if anything did you do to treat it, and how long did it take to heal?

God getting old sucks.

I've had 9 stress fractures, 6 of which were in my feet, plus one random fracture in my right foot of unknown origin.

Rest, ice, elevation. I got 7 in one fell swoop in the Marines and they had me on a very aggressive physical therapy program that didn't allow enough rest, so they remained present and painful for 18 months. In the process of forcing me to run sooner than I should have, I got two more.

I had a similar experience when I broke my foot 2 1/2 months ago and tried going for a walk too early in the healing phase. Fortunately I was in charge of my own recovery, and lacking the mental retardation and advanced medical degrees of Navy doctors I decided to give it more rest instead of making it worse under the auspices of "its going to hurt but you have to run to make it heal."

So, that's my advice. Give that painful son of a bitch all the rest it needs. If it hurts, stop doing whatever it is you're doing and give it more rest. Making it hurt is only going to make it take longer to heal. It's very simple in reality, don't overcomplicate it with ridiculous recovery plans from physical therapists and athletic trainers.

[FOG]

I *think* I had one, never went to the doctor bc there's not much they can do anyway. Sharp, pin- pointed pain on 2nd metatarsal approx 1/3 way down from toe joint. Occurred during a rocky trail run on 7/10. Continued to run through the pain for 3 weeks (including one 15 mile race) then laid off for 3-4 weeks. Pain was reduced to tolerable so training resumed.

Now, 4 weeks later, I'm good, Praise the Lord.

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[Robinson]

Thanks for the responses. I am becoming more convinced I do have a stress fracture, probably from running on the treadmill. Lots of pain and a burning sensation in my instep, putting weight on it hurts a lot. So working out and karate are out of the picture for a while.

Any opinions on whether a walking cane would be helpful?

[Poconnor]

See a podiatrist , get a weight bearing X-ray and then stay off it and let it heal

[Robinson]

May be going to the doc today or tomorrow. There's no way I can completely stay off it, which is why I am asking about the walking cane?

[Duelist]

Thanks for the responses. I am becoming more convinced I do have a stress fracture, probably from running on the treadmill. Lots of pain and a burning sensation in my instep, putting weight on it hurts a lot. So working out and karate are out of the picture for a while.

Any opinions on whether a walking cane would be helpful?

Could be a stress fracture, could be a lot of other things. See a podiatrist.

[Leroy Suggs]

It could be plantar fasciitis. I had that too and was worse than the fracture.
I would go to an orthopedic doctor or podiatric doctor.

[Casual Friday]

It could be plantar fasciitis. I had that too and was worse than the fracture.
I would go to an orthopedic doctor or podiatric doctor.

Concur. If given the choice I'd take the stress fracture. 6-8 weeks and I was good to go. Plantar fasciitis bothered me for probably 18 months.

[trailrunner]

I've had two stress fractures on my tibia. Had to be put in a cast to resolve them.

I thought I had a stress fracture in my foot, but it turned out to be a neuroma, which required surgery. Actually, it required two surgeries.

I also had plantar fasciitis. That was pretty painful, very annoying, and resisted all treatment.

Each one of these injuries felt different. The neuroma and stress fracture feel somewhat similar, but PF felt different. A good doctor should be able to diagnose your problem. Probably the best indicator for a stress fracture is that if it pressed, it will hurt. Stress fractures don't always show up on x-rays. A bone scan, where they inject a radioactive tracer in your blood, should show a stress fracture (the stress fractures on my tibia were glowing so much that the tech looked at the image and said "wow - that's bright - that must hurt"). If it is a stress fracture, about the only way to resolve it is by staying off it. I had a hard cast for my stress fractures, but now they would probably use one of those hard plastic boots that look sort of like a ski boot. Usual caveat: I'm a doctor, but not a medical doctor.

[txdpd]

I don't always have a high opinion of doctors, but the orthopedic/podiatry guys usually know their business.

I diagnosed myself with illiotibial band syndrome, turned out to be a tibial plateau stress fracture.

[Mjolnir]

Look at your diet. Something (many things) are lacking for this to happen. As we age our bodies become less efficient at... everything.

Time to supplement if you haven't been.

Silica and Magnesium taken together for a bioavailable Calcium.
Boron, Zinc, B-vitamins, anti-oxidants would be a good start.

Look up what minerals are found in bone then find bioavailable sources of each. I gave you the key to Calcium (most on the market is just rock).


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[Nephrology]

I don't always have a high opinion of doctors, but the orthopedic/podiatry guys usually know their business.

I diagnosed myself with illiotibial band syndrome, turned out to be a tibial plateau stress fracture.

Between the two, I'd go with Ortho.

Actually, if I had the choice, I'd see ortho once for the plain film and then go right to PT if they even hint that it' a non-op case ...


Look at your diet. Something (many things) are lacking for this to happen. As we age our bodies become less efficient at... everything.

Time to supplement if you haven't been.

Silica and Magnesium taken together for a bioavailable Calcium.
Boron, Zinc, B-vitamins, anti-oxidants would be a good start.

Look up what minerals are found in bone then find bioavailable sources of each. I gave you the key to Calcium (most on the market is just rock).


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Supplementation is usually not a bad thing, but I would be surprised if it would prevent the OP's problems. Your body is very good at regulating the concentration of minerals and electrolytes that we need. Unless he has osteoporosis or in renal failure it is likely that his mineral metabolism is doing OK.

Plus, there is very little evidence (http://www.jwatch.org/na33131/2014/01/28/are-multivitamin-and-mineral-supplements-useful) that vitamin supplements actually do anything...

[Robinson]

Between the two, I'd go with Ortho.

Actually, if I had the choice, I'd see ortho once for the plain film and then go right to PT if they even hint that it' a non-op case ...


I'm not very smart. I understood everything but "plain film" and "PT". Physical Therapy? Really?

[Robinson]

One thing I have observed is that the most intense pain is at the same place on the top of my instep where I had an injury about 20 years ago. There was sufficient force involved that it caused a hematoma and I had blood pooled around my toes and the side of my foot for a long time. I am wondering if that old injury had something to do with this. It wouldn't be the first time an old injury came back to haunt me.

[Greg]

Plantar Faciitis - The other PF, and it really sucks.

[Thy.Will.Be.Done]

I've had 9 stress fractures, 6 of which were in my feet, plus one random fracture in my right foot of unknown origin.

Rest, ice, elevation. I got 7 in one fell swoop in the Marines and they had me on a very aggressive physical therapy program that didn't allow enough rest, so they remained present and painful for 18 months. In the process of forcing me to run sooner than I should have, I got two more.

I had a similar experience when I broke my foot 2 1/2 months ago and tried going for a walk too early in the healing phase. Fortunately I was in charge of my own recovery, and lacking the mental retardation and advanced medical degrees of Navy doctors I decided to give it more rest instead of making it worse under the auspices of "its going to hurt but you have to run to make it heal."

So, that's my advice. Give that painful son of a bitch all the rest it needs. If it hurts, stop doing whatever it is you're doing and give it more rest. Making it hurt is only going to make it take longer to heal. It's very simple in reality, don't overcomplicate it with ridiculous recovery plans from physical therapists and athletic trainers.

Wow.... just wow. I'm no doctor, but I did stay in a holiday Inn a while back... generally when something causes you pain.... it means you should stop doing whatever it is that caused the pain.

[Nephrology]

I'm not very smart. I understood everything but "plain film" and "PT". Physical Therapy? Really?

Yes to PT, definitely. Orthopedics is great if you have a surgical problem. If you don't, I'd see PT. If surgery isn't absolutely necessary I generally side with not doing it.

Plain film - X-Ray.

[Mjolnir]

Between the two, I'd go with Ortho.

Actually, if I had the choice, I'd see ortho once for the plain film and then go right to PT if they even hint that it' a non-op case ...



Supplementation is usually not a bad thing, but I would be surprised if it would prevent the OP's problems. Your body is very good at regulating the concentration of minerals and electrolytes that we need. Unless he has osteoporosis or in renal failure it is likely that his mineral metabolism is doing OK.

Plus, there is very little evidence (http://www.jwatch.org/na33131/2014/01/28/are-multivitamin-and-mineral-supplements-useful) that vitamin supplements actually do anything...

I'll keep my mineral supplements and vitamins, thank you.

There is no evidence of one getting all of the supplementation one requires eating our common foods. Minerals come from the soil not "from the plant."


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[Robinson]

So I saw a Podiatrist this morning and I don't have a definitive answer yet. The xray didn't show anything, but stress fractures often don't show up on xrays. An MRI would show a stress fracture or an infection, so if things don't improve that will be my next step.

The doc said there are three possible causes based on her examination. It could be a stress fracture, an infection from a bite (spider, etc...), or gout. In my mind gout would probably be the worst outcome of the three, and the bite would be the best outcome since the infection is easily treatable. The doctor told me the gout would probably also be more painful than a stress fracture. I had severe pain Wednesday night.

Started antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory drug today. If my condition improves drastically over the next day or so then it is likely an infection. That's what I'm hoping for. If not then the next course of action is the MRI. If that doesn't show anything I will have to wait and see if it happens again and if it does, quickly get my uric acid level checked for signs of gout.