Stress fractures

[subc]

I'm pretty sure I have a stress fracture in my foot. I remember landing on it funny during dance one or two weeks ago and now it's pretty painful when I bend my foot or step on it a certain way.

Anyone have experience with a stress fracture? I'm gonna go to the doctor if it doesn't get better or if it gets worse...probably best to just lay off it for a while?

[Procrastinating]

I had a stress fracture on my right shin and I had to stop playing basketball completely as a result. I didn't realize I had one till I got x-rays, sometimes, you can even have an infected bone (for shin areas, it's weird) cause it feels the same. For my treatment, I had to use ice for the swelling, and then rest it for months at a time. Some people swear by taking calcium so the fracture fills itself in but I was never consistent with it.

[Ariel Sharon]

sometimes, you can even have an infected bone (for shin areas, it's weird).
yep. and that area is very troubling to diagnose... x-rays aren't always the most reliable. a bone scan might be needed.

sub, stress fractures aren't brought on by freak accidents, they happen for a reason... like overtraining, improper footwear, poor nutrition or low concentrations of testosterone or estrogen (you may be experiencing a hormonal imbalance). even osteoporosis. the moral of the story is go see a doctor and let him/her refer you to a podiatrist

if you aren't already, do some tibialis anterior exercises (http://www.exrx.net/Lists/ExList/CalfWt.html#anchor1929502) and see if they exasperate or alleviate the pain. could be the two idiots that posted in this thread so far are making a big hoopla over nothing

[subc]

yep. and that area is very troubling to diagnose... x-rays aren't always the most reliable. a bone scan might be needed.

sub, stress fractures aren't brought on by freak accidents, they happen for a reason... like overtraining, improper footwear, poor nutrition or low concentrations of testosterone or estrogen (you may be experiencing a hormonal imbalance). even osteoporosis. the moral of the story is go see a doctor and let him/her refer you to a podiatrist

if you aren't already, do some tibialis anterior exercises (http://www.exrx.net/Lists/ExList/CalfWt.html#anchor1929502) and see if they exasperate or alleviate the pain. could be the two idiots that posted in this thread so far are making a big hoopla over nothing

:laugh:

thanks my dude. I definitely don't get enough calcium in my diet because I don't drink milk and I read that women are a lot more susceptible to bone issues because of our estrogen levels....time to hit the cheese I suppose.

kept ice on it all night last night....looks like some swelling has gone down. I'll go to the doctor if it keeps hurting. I'll also keep going to dance because I'm stubborn.

I can imagine having one in your shin would be really painful :(

[Procrastinating]

could be the two idiots that posted in this thread so far are making a big hoopla over nothing
I thought you cared about my pain, ho :mad:
Cutting a varsity basketball career short is not just a "nothing"!

[w3ssam]

right... first of son whos talkin about gettin a bone infection is just talkin crazy. IF you have an infection in your bone (called osteomyelitis) then it is a serious condition and you will get constant pain in your leg/area of bone that is infected, the pain in your leg is so bad that it will keep you from sleepin.

secondly duke who said about a bone scan/hormonal problems also dont know what he talkin about. these types of injuries are usually diagnosed by your local doctor because of 2 reasons. first is that there will be no difference in management of the injury and second is that it will still sometimes be difficult to see on MRI/CT.

now i know some fools gonna bring up the fact that you may need it pin n' plated for it to heal but that bs cuz you aint a professional athelet that needs to be out on the court/field in a given time frame so the whats gonna happen is that you will be told to just rest and ice it. it is true that women are more prone to bone pathologies but that affects women who are post menopausal and also the guy tellin you to drink/eat more things with calcium is also wrong. best way to combat osteoperosis is to do light weight lifting while you are young which causes you to increase bone density.

heres whats gonna happen when you come the doctor, we will tell you to rest it and try to refrain for doin any activity(dance) for at least 4-6 weeks and see how that goes. if you push hard enough we may give you an x-ray for piece of mind but 90% of the time it wont show. you will be adivesed to take some tylenol or ibuprofen for the pain.

sorry for the wall of text and if ya have any more Q's feel free to ask.

[Procrastinating]

right... first of son whos talkin about gettin a bone infection is just talkin crazy.
I'm a girl :grrr:
And if I was talking crazy, so was the number of medical professionals that I had to get treatment from. I never said I got a bone infection from stress fractures.

[Ariel Sharon]

Wessam, your post was confusing as hell. the fact you repeated what I said about the futility of x-rays but say "I don't know anything" because I invoked bone scans when:

Your doctor may order a bone scan to help diagnose subtle or hidden bone fractures, such as a stress fracture, that may not show up on a routine X-ray. Bone scans can also help detect other conditions as well. (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/bone-scan/CA00020)

Ok? so, lets slow down, open Microsoft Word, give that spell check/grammar check a run and try to explain clearly and coherently why you agree and disagree with me at the same time. help me out here Wessam (can I call you Weezy?), because that long winded post was all over the place.

and your second objection about "hormonal problems"; regular vigorous exercise, eating disorders, pituitary tumors, the cumulative effects of stress and exposure to environmental toxins all can lead to the disruption to the natural rhythms and balancing mechanisms of a womens hormones. irrespective of age..... but thats besides the point, unlike you I wasn't trying to identify, diagnose and treat the threadstarter but try to convey to her that stress fractures can occur from a multitude of different causes (in some cases malignant) and the one thing she should do is see a podiatrist.

and did you just say eating things with calcium...... is wrong? the fukk? you're Lebanese, aren't you?

and if ya have any more Q's feel free to ask.

*raises hand*

how do you keep your body from crushing from under the weight of your own genius? a neck brace? perhaps a nifty scarf ala Cornel West?

o, & kuss imuk (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlEC0bS2UMw), ya hmar. :hug:

[w3ssam]

woah there chief calm down now, i was tryin to put the ladies mind at ease after you were spewing all that hot garbage about bone scans. this is whats funny about the post people make in here they all (not sayin you in particular) think they know what they are sayin and are all experts. im sorry if i was makin spellin and grammatical errors left and right i wasnt gonna get it published it was just a quick post/reply.

right this is gonna be a long one :unsure: i'll try to keep out the technical stuff. According to the Hippocratic Oath one should not subject the patient to any unnecessary potential harmful medications/treatment/management/etc etc. now heres where i know you fudged up on your attempted research. you obviously dont know jack about why you dont do a bone scan, 1 bone scan is equivalent to ~200 chest x-rays, or also equal to 1.8-2 years of radiation...ya let that knowledge simmer in ya noggin for a minute.

as a doctor you have to think of a couple things when dealin with a situation like this 1) will this bone scan help change the management of my patient? 2) does the benefit out weigh the risks? 3) will the radiologist accept my request for puttin forward a scan which he/she may refuse and deem it unnecessary and potentially harmful to the patient.

so reasons you dont do a bone scan for this situation:
1)this is most likely a stress fracture or maybe just some trauma in the region
2)the bone scan will not benefit the patient due to the fact that she is still young (im just assuming you under 50 here) and the management is not going to change.
3)you will be subjecting her to unnecessary radiation dosages (~2 yrs of radiation at one time)

now back to the other issue about hormonal imbalance, the things you list there will cause other serious pathologies which would dwarf something as little as stress fractures (i'll divulge in it next time maybe). please do re-read what i wrote about the calcium, i was talkin about the advice of increasin calcium. eating/drinking/generally increasing in calcium will not help increase your bone density. heres why you need weight training, it causes micro fractures within the bone so it can remodel and become stronger thus it increases in bone density. side effect of increase calcium...kidney stones!

like damn man i thought the women was askin for advice... which i tried to put forth my knowledge and tried to correct some misunderstandings I wasn’t tyin to diss you or nothing sorry if it came out like that. yes you can call me weezy if ya want and :confused: @ why you so :mad:

sorry Procrastinating i didnt know you was a girl :hug: we good?

[Ariel Sharon]

my cousin shares the same name as you and he's a fat bastard so I call him Weezy (in honour of the Jeffersons, not Lil wayne)

see, if you had just said from the jump you have issues with bone scans due to the radiation effect, rather than posturing yourself as a overweening smartass, I would've agreed with you and kept it moving.

I have nothing but respect for doctors, but in the same vein have nothing but contempt for braggadocios Dr. House groupies who think they're holier than the good lords piss. perhaps you can keep that in mind next time.... . if not, then allow me to reiterate: kuss imuk :mario:

[subc]

*head explodes*

:laugh: Well I didn't dance last Thursday and kept ice on it all night. I went to dance on Friday and it felt ok...still some pain when I landed on it a certain way so I just avoided certain moves. It still really hurts when I bend my toes and push down a certain way, but I'm hoping that will eventually heal over time.

Any benefit in me wrapping it up in like, a tensor bandage when I'm at the studio? I know those are more for ankles, etc.....

[w3ssam]

ya ok sharon (can i call you sharon as the annoyin b!tch who is married to that osbourne guy since you remind me of her) first of all im not a house groupie i hate those ppl too, im the real deal and like i said before i wasnt tryin to get at you calm down. secondly im not about to argue with some keyboard warrior who is occupied with my grammar on a message board when im just tryin to post a quick reply and help some people out.

subconcious: now i cannot say 100% that you have a stress fracture cause i did not examine you in real life so please please pleaaaassee try to refrain from strenuous activity like dancing/jumping/running on hard surfaces for at least 3 to 4 weeks. like i said before you might be gettin micro fractures in your feet and bone does not heal as quick as your skin. but if you are feelin better in lets say 2 weeks try to gradually ease into dancing. and no tensor/compression bandages are for stability of the joint, what you can do if you really cant stop for 3 weeks is put some soft insoles in your shoes and do some pre-dance warmups if those exist:confused:. but best advice will still be rest!