Anyone on here a runner that’s suffered through a stress fracture?

AmyOutOfControl
AmyOutOfControl Posts: 1,425 Member
edited January 2020 in Fitness and Exercise
Has anyone on here ever suffered a stress fracture from running? How long did it take to heal? What low/no impact activities did you find helpful while recovering?

I would love to hear anyone else experiences. Thanks!

Replies

  • psychrat
    psychrat Posts: 21 Member
    I developed stress fractures in both my shins when I ran cross country in high school. I had a coach who was of the mindset to run through pain. Very bad idea. I was on crutches for approximately a month. I remember that during my recovery phase I ran in a pool quite a bit and lots of rest.

    Take care of yourself and heal up soon! Injuries are the pits!
  • etruscansunited
    etruscansunited Posts: 18 Member
    A decent rehab plan relies on answers to the following.
    It's probably not worth you answering them publicly because you will get advice from inexperts and you just don't know how inexpert they are. Nevertheless, collate your answers to the following and find offline someone competent to help with a good rehab plan.
    A good rehab plan not only repairs but also builds you stronger than before.
    Otherwise, you are likely to repeat all the things that contributed to a rather nasty, insidious and debilitating injury.

    Where is the (stress) fracture? Which bone?
    How was it diagnosed? Scans of what type? Who assessed the scans?
    What degree of (stress) fracture?
    Any other assessment? (Hopping, etc,?)
    What was your experience of the pain prior to diagnosis? How long? When would the pain occur? On getting up? Early in run? Later during run? Long after the run?
    Any competent, experienced person assessed your running biomechanics? Your functional strength?
    Shoes? Orthoses?
    Weight for height, body type?
    What was your training history? Long term and in the 6 months or so prior to onset? (Running, strength work and other sports) (Where did you run? How often?)
    Are you training for a target race distance?
    Any prior history of any kind of running related injuries?
    Any other sports or physical activities?
    Any other injuries or ailments not related to exercise?
    Any competently assessed significant leg length difference?
    Describe your diet over the last six months or so.
  • pattie317
    pattie317 Posts: 43 Member
    Starting all over here! I was in a car accident last May....broke my tibia, fibula, and a shattered ankle, also broke several ribs... I am finally cleared to walk without the boot which has been with me for the past seven months. I was a pretty avid runner before all this! Started running at age 49 countless 5,10k,s Half Marathons, and 2 Full Marathons. Plan to get back on track here and go back to the gym slowly...and follow better eating habits, which I have been not following at all! Through all this I've gain over 30 pounds...very discouraging! So, if you have found any exercises to help your injury please share I would love to hear what has worked! Thank-You!
  • allother94
    allother94 Posts: 588 Member
    pattie317 wrote: »
    Starting all over here! I was in a car accident last May....broke my tibia, fibula, and a shattered ankle, also broke several ribs... I am finally cleared to walk without the boot which has been with me for the past seven months. I was a pretty avid runner before all this! Started running at age 49 countless 5,10k,s Half Marathons, and 2 Full Marathons. Plan to get back on track here and go back to the gym slowly...and follow better eating habits, which I have been not following at all! Through all this I've gain over 30 pounds...very discouraging! So, if you have found any exercises to help your injury please share I would love to hear what has worked! Thank-You!

    Mind if I ask how you got in an accident?
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,744 Member
    I had a pelvic stress fracture from doing too much too soon. I went from couch to HM in 6 months. That was too much for me. It took about 7 months before I could run without pain. I made the mistake of continuing to walk the dog after my injury, which set me back quite a bit and then when I started exercising again after 5 months I did too much too soon again and was set back longer. Listen to your doctor if he/she says to rest completely. I was told I could do stationary bike and pool running only. There was a very long thread on Runners World about pelvic stress fractures. Other runners took anywhere from two months to two years to heal completely.
  • youngmomtaz
    youngmomtaz Posts: 1,075 Member
    edited January 2020
    Here. It would have been about 15yrs a go when my middle son was a toddler. Time to get back to my fit self right? I started my running with one milers, slow. Built up to three. Having never suffered with shin splints ever I had no idea the mild discomfort in my shins was anything more than that. Two weeks later, severe pain and one bone scan proved I had done that damage and caused stress fractures. Multiple in both tibia. I could not even climb stairs and slept on the couch for two weeks with ice packs until the swelling was down consistently. If I sat on the floor to play with the kids and one of them plopped down onto my lap I almost threw them across the room to get them off the pain was so sharp. I was back to slowly building up my running within 3months. Annddd then it happened again. No scan that time as it was familiar enough to recognize. By then winter was coming so it healed well over the next 6 months. After that, on the Rec of my Physio, I slowly transitioned to barefoot style shoes. It took a total of two years to get down from full support to vibram five fingers, but now I run gravel, pavement, and trail in them and similar styles. Anything from 2milers to half marathon distances. Not saying that is what you should do, just my experience.

    My foot, ankle, and lower leg strength improved greatly over those two years. And that has protected me from injury as well as the altered gait style. My calves had always been skinny and gained 1” in diameter. I am happy all around.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    amymoreorless wrote: »
    Has anyone on here ever suffered a stress fracture from running? How long did it take to heal? What low/no impact activities did you find helpful while recovering?

    I would love to hear anyone else experiences. Thanks!

    I was a track and field sprinter in high school and stress fractured my tibia. As I recall it was about 3 months of low to no impact activity to heal. It happened just before summer, so I mostly swam all summer with my swim team.

    I fractured my knee cap last February and it took about 3-4 months to heal. I mostly walked, did some yoga, and some light cycling in easy gears.
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
    What did your doctor say to do?
  • RunsWithBees
    RunsWithBees Posts: 1,508 Member
    youngmomtaz wrote: »
    Here. It would have been about 15yrs a go when my middle son was a toddler. Time to get back to my fit self right? I started my running with one milers, slow. Built up to three. Having never suffered with shin splints ever I had no idea the mild discomfort in my shins was anything more than that. Two weeks later, severe pain and one bone scan proved I had done that damage and caused stress fractures. Multiple in both tibia. I could not even climb stairs and slept on the couch for two weeks with ice packs until the swelling was down consistently. If I sat on the floor to play with the kids and one of them plopped down onto my lap I almost threw them across the room to get them off the pain was so sharp. I was back to slowly building up my running within 3months. Annddd then it happened again. No scan that time as it was familiar enough to recognize. By then winter was coming so it healed well over the next 6 months. After that, on the Rec of my Physio, I slowly transitioned to barefoot style shoes. It took a total of two years to get down from full support to vibram five fingers, but now I run gravel, pavement, and trail in them and similar styles. Anything from 2milers to half marathon distances. Not saying that is what you should do, just my experience.

    My foot, ankle, and lower leg strength improved greatly over those two years. And that has protected me from injury as well as the altered gait style. My calves had always been skinny and gained 1” in diameter. I am happy all around.

    I had a similar experience, I didn’t actually get stress fractures but I had horrible painful shin splints when I started running even though I had a “gait analysis” and got fitted “professionally” for running shoes. I tried everything everyone says to do but it wasn’t helping, I got extremely frustrated and started thinking that there had to be a way to run without pain, I mean... dang it, my ancestors managed somehow without Nikes right?! So I tried the toe shoes but my toes would annoyingly hit inside the toe pockets so I just plain ditched them altogether. I started running barefoot almost 6 years ago and I’ve never had shin splints since. I run barefoot or in 4mm diy Xero sandals when it’s not ideal to be barefoot. Never had any injuries worse than some mild Achilles tendinitis from overdoing hills but I can avoid that by running flat surfaces more often. I developed “calfzillas” :D and my legs look much more shapely. My previously flat feet have arches now and my posture improved 100% effortlessly. Last year I ran my best mileage, a total of 700 miles! I never claim running barefoot has any proven benefits though, I just run this way because it feels free and light and fun! :)
  • z4oslo
    z4oslo Posts: 229 Member
    I had 2 stress fractures in 2019, both in same leg. Took me a good 3,5 months to recover. Since then ive learned a great deal about what caused it in the first place, so now I also add in strenght and mobility training. Hoping for a injury free 2020
  • SchweddyGirl
    SchweddyGirl Posts: 244 Member
    So for stress fractures, the best options for you are pool running or if you have the money getting on a Zero G treadmill, also called alter-g treadmills. Already seen people talk about pool running, so I will a bit more into detail of the treadmill. They basically make you lighter by removing weight from your legs by hoisting you up (they are great motivators for those losing weight and running, will show you how much easier it is to run at your target weight). The treadmill can be pricey though...here in Memphis it is about $15 an hour to use and you have to set up an appointment or reserve it.

  • Vladimirnapkin
    Vladimirnapkin Posts: 299 Member
    This is the best return to running plan I know of. Don't do any weight bearing activity before you have been cleared by your doctor! http://kemibe.com/distancecoach/labreports/stressfracture.shtml
  • busyPK
    busyPK Posts: 3,788 Member
    edited January 2020
    Not a stress fracture, but I broke my tibia and fibula and had surgery. I have a plate and 8 or 9 screws (can't remember lol). Took me 9 months to recover and learn to walk again without crutches or a walking boot. At the 1 year point I started jogging again (was running 10ks before the break). I took it slow for about 6 months. I'm now 5+ years after surgery and feeling 95% (will probably never be 100% due to all the hardware in my ankle).

    Edit to add within my recovery I got in the pool as much as possible. And when I was out of the boot a lot of simple walking and time on the spin bike.

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