Do you feel like there’s something lodged in your leg when you’re running or doing high impact activities? It could be a stress fracture.
Stress fractures are very small cracks in a bone, not a full break. They happen in overused bones that take the brunt of weight or impact rebounds.
That means ankles, leg bones, feet, and hips are all up for stress fractures.
Think you have one? Let’s look into five stress fracture symptoms that could be begging you to see your doctor.
Anyone can get a stress fracture, in any weight bearing bone structure. The ones we listed above are the most common.
They’re injuries that build over time or come to fruition when you put on weight quickly.
Athletes, even healthy ones, are at risk for stress fractures. They make up around 15% of all sports-related injuries.
We’re not talking about the sometimes-if-it-rains kind of aching pain. Stress fracture aches are deep within the bone. It can feel like a squeezing pressure or a minor cramp you don’t know how to get rid of.
The best way to treat it as it happens is with RICE and ibuprofen until you can get to a doctor.
If you’re okay during your workout or when you’re on your feet all day only to get pain at night, stress fractures may be to blame.
Feeling aches and pains once you’re able to rest or before you go to sleep is a stress fracture symptom.
Your body put up with the activity and now that it’s out of the fight-or-flight pain reduction, you get to feel what you’ve been avoiding all day.
Do you get a slight ache or a pain it feels like you just need to shake out during activity? That might be a stress fracture.
Stress fracture pain during activity acts however it wants, it’s not the same for any one person.
You could be fine for the first session of your workout, feel pain in the middle, then have it go away before you’re done.
Remember, pain isn’t normal during a workout or activity – see your doctor if it persists.
Let’s say you were experiencing some foot pain and you rest it, use RICE, and stay off it for a while. Does the pain return the minute you go back to physical activity?
That’s likely a stress fracture. If it was a sprain or other minor muscle injury, rest would have solved it.
If it seems like nothing you do changes your pain level, the next step is to see a doctor. They can recommend treatment, or surgery in some cases, to get you pain-free.
If you think you have any of these stress fracture symptoms, go see a health professional. The nurses and doctors at urgent care can diagnose you and provide you with relief.
If they can’t solve the problem on the spot, they’ll refer you to an orthopedic doctor which gets you in quicker than if you’d called alone.
Don’t stay in pain for another minute. Call now.