StressFractures

Stressfracture:Acrackinabone,causedbytherepetitiveapplicationof
forceoroveruse.

Causes
Stressfracturesaremostcommonlycausedbyagreateramountofforcethan
normalbeingappliedtothebonesofthefeet/lowerlegs.
Thereisaconstantturnoverofcellsinourbonestomaintainstrengthand
mineralhomeostasis.Inaprocesscalledremodeling,oldboneisresorbedbyourbody,
whilenewboneisproducedtopreventdamageinourbones.Whenanabnormal
amountofforceisappliedtoourbones,itcausesanimbalanceintheresorptionand
productionofbone.Whenthishappens,ourbodiesresorbbonefasterthanwereplace
it.Theresultofthisisbonefatiguewhichiswhenyourbonesbecomeweakened.The
weakenedbonesareverysusceptibletocracks,whichishowstressfracturesoccur.

AtRiskGroups
Peoplewhoareinvolvedinhighimpactsports/activitiesthatrequirealotof
jumpingorrunninghaveanincreasedriskofofdevelopingstressfractures.Yourriskof
developingastressfractureisalsogreaterifyouquicklychangefromarelatively
inactivelifestyletosuddenlydoingalotofactivity.
Footproblemscanalsocontributetoyourriskofdevelopingstressfractures.
Problemssuchashighrigidarchesorflatfeetcancauseabnormalstressonbones,
whichcanleadtofractures.
Finally,peoplewithconditionssuchasosteoporosishaveweakenedbones
whichcanaidinstressfracturesdeveloping.

Diagnosis
Xrays,bonescansandMRIscanbeusedtodiagnosestressfractures.
However,stressfracturescansometimestakeafewweekstoamonthfromthetime
whensymptomsfirstoccurtobevisibleonascan.

Treatment
Braces,walkingbootsorcastsaremostcommonlyusedtotreatstressfractures,
inanattempttoreducetheamountofstressontheinjuredboneuntilitheals.Incases
wheretheboneisnothealingonitsown(thisgenerallyoccurswhentheboneisinan
areaoflowbloodflow),surgerymayberequiredtoensurethecompletehealingofthe
injuredbone.

Prevention
Thereareafewwaystoreduceyourriskofdevelopingastressfracture.First,
youcantransitionintonewexerciseprograms/schedulesgraduallytomakesurethat
yourbonesareabletowithstandtheamountofimpactthatcomeswiththenewactivity.
Anotherthingthatisveryimportantisensuringthatyouhavetheproper,wellfitting
shoesfortheactivity.Fordancers,thisisespeciallyimportantwithpointeshoes.
Crosstrainingcanalsohelptoalleviatestressonyourbonesbytrainingina
morelowimpactactivity.

Complications
Theonlywayacomplicationcanoccurwithastressfractureisifitdoesnotheal
properly,causingchronicpain.

StressFracturesinDancers
Dancersareincrediblysusceptibletostressfractures,especiallyinthe
metatarsalsandthetibia.Forfemaledancers,metatarsalstressfracturesaremore
commonduetopointework.Thecontinuousstrainandpressurethatcomesfromrolling
throughthefeetontopointeandfromrelevsenpointecanweakenbonesveryeasily.
Tibialstressfracturesoccurmorefrequentlyinmales,asmaledancersaregenerally
doingmore(andoftenhigher)jumpsthanfemales,andifadancerstechniqueis
compromisedonalanding,theymayputanabnormalstrainontheirtibia,resultingina
stressfracture.
Stressfractureslocatedtowardstheshaftofthemetatarsalareverycommon
overuseinjuriestothegeneralpopulation,butstressfracturesatthebaseofthe
metatarsalarealmostexclusivelyfoundindancers,andaresometimesreferredtoas
BallerinaFractures.Thepositionanduseofthefootenpointeisveryunique,asit
requiresextremeplantarflexion*ofthefoot.Thiscombinedwithanabnormallockingof
themetatarsalsintothecuneiformbonescausetheweakeningofbonesthatresultsina
BallerinaFracture.

*PlantarFlexion

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