Stress Fractures?

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julieh391
julieh391 Posts: 683 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm pretty sure I have a stress fracture in my ankle. :sad: I was doing C25K on my treadmill, and once I hit week 8 I took my running outside to a paved trail. I ended up feeling great and running farther, and faster than I had ever run on the treadmill. By that evening I was pretty sore all over. The next day (yesterday) I noticed a sharper pain my right ankle (on the inside just below the bone.) nothing major but definitely a pinpoint kind of pain and not just soreness. Today it feels a little worse especially when I flex my foot. Does anyone have any experience with stress fractures? Judging by what I'm reading I've done everything on the list of causes even though I thought I was taking it easy (treadmill, intervals, pavement after two months of lower impact running, etc.) :frown: It's not possible for me to get an X-ray today, but I'll be getting one tomorrow. I'm just looking for advice in the mean time and any tips for what to do from here if it is in fact a stress fracture. I am so sad to potentially lose all my progress from C25K. I went from not being able to run for two minutes to running 3 miles the day I injured myself.

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  • julieh391
    julieh391 Posts: 683 Member
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    Bump?
  • lauleipop
    lauleipop Posts: 260 Member
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    If you have a stress fracture, you'll be told to keep weight off the injury for several weeks. A friend ended up with a stress fracture and was on crutches for 6 weeks to let the bone heal. I'm sorry for your injury, but please follow your Dr's directions on recovery. Trying to work through a stress fracture is foolishness.
  • julieh391
    julieh391 Posts: 683 Member
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    I really hope I don't end up with crutches. :( I have a three month old baby.. I'm going to get an X-ray today.
  • alohabrie
    alohabrie Posts: 204
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    I'm sorry! I posted a cry for help yesterday for hip pain from my Week 7 C25K run and didn't get much of a response either. I would suggest Advil or Aleve for the pain and ice the area if you can. Sometimes stress fractures don't show up too quickly in Xrays - so call your doctor and see what she/he suggests.

    I know what you mean about not wanting to lost that momentum - it was too much work to let go now! Good luck!
  • sarafil
    sarafil Posts: 506 Member
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    All you can do is get an x-ray and confirm if it is a fracture; usually when it is pinpoint and sharp, you think fracture....but only the x-ray will tell. Use aleve and ice for now, and try not to put a lot of weight on it.

    That being said, it is possible that it is NOT a stress fracture. You say that you switched from treadmill to pavement, increased your speed, and your distance, all in one run. I totally understand getting caught up with excitement over running, but that is probably the worst thing you can do. It has to be a VERY gradual increase in all areas, or you open yourself up to a myriad of injuries! Running on a treadmill and running outside are two very different things. Outdoor running is harder and going to use your muscles in different ways.

    If this is not a stress fracture, make sure you do not run again until the pain is gone. Make sure you do active warm up before running, and a good stretch after you are done. Maybe scale back your distance until your body adjusts to running outdoors. Don't give up....beginning running requires a lot of patience, but you are on the right track!
  • timboom1
    timboom1 Posts: 762 Member
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    Get it checked out, a stress fracture is possible, but there are any number of other njuries that are more likely given what led up to the pain. You don't seem to have been overdoing it up to that one day. In any case, you will want to let it heal (stress fracture or otherwise.) Good luck.
  • RuthieCass
    RuthieCass Posts: 247 Member
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    That's not good. :-( But there's not much you can do about a stress fracture but give it time to heal. Even if it's not a stress fracture, I'd suggest that you back away completely from the running until your foot feels completely heeled. Yes, you are likely to lose some of the progress you've made. And if you get tempted to push your body, just remind yourself of what happened the last time you pushed yourself too hard. It's better to make slow, gradual increases in your distance or time rather than try to go hard all at once and injure yourself.

    This is a common mistake newer runners make (even after they ask for advice). If you are transitioning from the treadmill to outdoors, you should definitely NOT increase your speed or distance-- and definitely not both at the same time. You should probably plan to run slightly slower and shorter when you're transitioning to outdoor running to let your body adjust. Actually, you should generally not increase both speed and distance at once. In general, "slow and steady" will help you make better gains in your run.

    Hope you heal quickly!
  • coopersmom2006
    coopersmom2006 Posts: 839
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    Rest, Advil and ice it until you find out for sure. They might put you in a cast or an air boot. I'm currently on week 7 of 8 due to a stress fracture on the top of my foot. No crutches but I am wearing a very heavy, very annoying giant air boot. My dr allowed me to use the stationary bike for my cardio and to do core/upper body work so I've been able to maintain fairly well. Fingers crossed for you!!
  • shoobz
    shoobz Posts: 119
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    If you just had a baby 3 months ago, it's very possible your legs weren't fully recovered. I have a stress fracture in my tibia, and your injury sounds very similar. I only hope your hospital is better than mine. Stress fractures don't generally show up on x-ray and I was diagnosed with "soft-tissue damage" and told to keep running on it. 2 days later, I couldn't walk and my GP was livid. Your best bet is to have an MRI.

    If you need to get some cardio in, try cycling. So much easier on your body. And I'm so sorry this has interrupted your C25K!
  • HollyRutledge
    HollyRutledge Posts: 250 Member
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    I have had these a few times, first time was in the Army....the doc gave me a profile for NO running NO weight bearing, and MUST wear tennis shoes...no boots.....you just have to let it rest for a while. The fracture is due to stress, so you have to stop putting stress on it til it heals....hope this helps. I love running, but am currently waiting on another stress fracture to completely heal, so I am doing the stationary bike.
  • SEEotU
    SEEotU Posts: 32 Member
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    I got a stress fracture in my tibia when I first started running. Had to take 12 week off running, but was able to keep my cardiovascular progress by using the elliptical after 2 weeks of complete rest. Once I got back it was on strict order to never run more than once in a 48 hour period and take 12 weeks to gradually work back up to 3 miles. Also had to learn to land on my toes. No issues in 2 years though.
  • hahandel
    hahandel Posts: 134 Member
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    I had similar pain like that a couple of weeks ago while on week 9 of c25k. I too thought it might be a stress fracture. I stayed off of it last week (no exercise, but did normal daily activities) and the pain went away and I'm fine now. I didn't bother going to the doc because I read a stress fracture won't show up on an x-ray until it's starting to heal several weeks later (maybe that's not the case).

    Good luck!
  • julieh391
    julieh391 Posts: 683 Member
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    Thanks, everybody. I'm waiting for a call back from my doctor to tell me what kind of test she wants me to do (X-ray, MRI..) And in my defense I have to say that it never felt hard running outside. I never felt like I was pushing it. It was easy, so I kept going. I never would have thought that I could injure myself without it feeling super challenging. I guess my poor bones didn't think it was so easy.
  • jilliebk
    jilliebk Posts: 252 Member
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    I'm pretty sure I have a stress fracture in my ankle. :sad: I was doing C25K on my treadmill, and once I hit week 8 I took my running outside to a paved trail. I ended up feeling great and running farther, and faster than I had ever run on the treadmill. By that evening I was pretty sore all over. The next day (yesterday) I noticed a sharper pain my right ankle (on the inside just below the bone.) nothing major but definitely a pinpoint kind of pain and not just soreness. Today it feels a little worse especially when I flex my foot. Does anyone have any experience with stress fractures? Judging by what I'm reading I've done everything on the list of causes even though I thought I was taking it easy (treadmill, intervals, pavement after two months of lower impact running, etc.) :frown: It's not possible for me to get an X-ray today, but I'll be getting one tomorrow. I'm just looking for advice in the mean time and any tips for what to do from here if it is in fact a stress fracture. I am so sad to potentially lose all my progress from C25K. I went from not being able to run for two minutes to running 3 miles the day I injured myself.
    Rest up ... easier said then down happen to me 2 to 3 weeks ago and I kept on jogging on it, alos it doesn't have to b a stress fracture we have tendons in that area.. ice it, rest it up , also start a regiment of NASIDS(Ibuprofen.. hope this help
  • XXXMinnieXXX
    XXXMinnieXXX Posts: 3,459 Member
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    Hope you get answers and no need to defend yourself!!! I've got a running injury on both legs, going to see the physio next thursday. I'm 238lbs and never ran before, but started 5 or 6 weeks ago. Got the injury 3 weeks ago. Keep resting it and then going again, but realised I am going to have to stop for a while now though, after I've done race for life sunday! Can't not do that everyone sponsored me. Good luck in finding out the cause. Could be so many things so an expert opinion is best. I'm joining the gym monday, may have to start on the treadmill when I go back to it. Sounds like its easier on the body! X
  • RuthieCass
    RuthieCass Posts: 247 Member
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    Thanks, everybody. I'm waiting for a call back from my doctor to tell me what kind of test she wants me to do (X-ray, MRI..) And in my defense I have to say that it never felt hard running outside. I never felt like I was pushing it. It was easy, so I kept going. I never would have thought that I could injure myself without it feeling super challenging. I guess my poor bones didn't think it was so easy.

    Yep, sometimes when your adrenaline is pumping, you don't feel anything. I think many people have done this before. I know once I pushed it an extra two miles (8 total) because I was feeling great at the time-- then I had to take ~a week or two off b/c of pain in my foot afterwards. If, after your planned run. you still feel like going, maybe just walk for a little while instead.
  • runfatmanrun
    runfatmanrun Posts: 1,090 Member
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    I had a stress fracture in my tibia, where it joins at the knee. I was told, by an ortho doc, not to run for 6 months, but that I could bike or swim. When I did start incorporating running back in it was recommended to stick to the track or treadmills. That was a year ago and I run where I want now.
  • jsj024519
    jsj024519 Posts: 400 Member
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    Ahh. I believe that base training should never include speed! Low intensity during base period = ability to run pain without an injury!

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