What You Need To Know About Stress Fractures

Many people experience injuries to their feet and ankles. You use your feet and ankles so much that it is normal to have problems once in a while. One injury that is quite common for people who are very active, especially runners, is a stress fracture. Here are some things you need to know about stress fractures.

What Is A Stress Fracture?

A stress fracture is a small break in the bone. It doesn't cause a full break to the bone, instead it is just like a hairline fracture someone inside the bone. If the injury is not treated correctly, it can become something more and can cause the bone to break entirely. So although it isn't as serious as a full bone break, it can become problematic if not treated.

What Causes Stress Fractures?

Stress fractures are caused from repeated movement on the bone, resulting in too much stress to one area. For example, stress fractures are most common in runners. This is because the repetitive movements of slamming the foot on the pavement while running can put pressure and stress on one part of the foot. If you are doing something like interval training, you are less likely to stress fracture because the moves change around enough that is switches around how the foot bears the weight. Thus, marathon runners and people who do the same activity on their feet for hours at a time are most susceptible.

Second, stress fractures are more likely for people who have hormonal imbalances as well. Woman who have just had a pregnancy or babies are more likely to have an injury. So in some cases, you are doing anything dangerous, you might be doing normal activities, but because your hormones are off, the bones are more likely to break.

How Do You Treat A Stress Fracture?

The best way to treat a stress fracture is to give it rest. In a healthy person the bone can heal within a couple of weeks if you stop the repetitive movements that caused the break in the first place. If it came because of running, you should take a couple weeks off until the podiatrist can do an x-ray and approve you exercising again.

You also should wear a brace to help distribute the weight on the foot properly. This will prevent too much pressure being put on one part of the foot.

By understanding these things you can know what to do for stress fractures.