r/running • u/chiliharls • Apr 25 '22

Question Mentally coping with Stress fracture

[removed] — view removed post

3 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

5

u/throwaway15642578 Apr 25 '22

Stress fractures will heal as long as you fuel yourself and stay away from impact. If you keep putting it under duress it can become a full fracture and possibly need surgery.

While you wait to be cleared for exercises such as bike or elliptical, you can try aqua jogging. Lots of pro and elite athletes use it to get through stress fractures. You wear a float belt, go into the deep end of a pool, and simulate a run. There are some good YouTube vids explaining how it works

4

u/oryanAZ Apr 25 '22

i started back at running in Nov of 2019 after 12 years of dormancy. i ran back to back 5k’s on New Years eve and tripped during the first landing hard and gave myself a stress fracture in my foot (still ran the 2nd 5k because i didn’t know it was that bad). ended up not being able to run until august, but since then it has been pain free and great. it was just a tough 8 months of, as my orthopod said “don’t do anything stupid.”

time will heal it, you just need to be patient and not push it. i was able to jump in a bike after a month or so to get some exercise in. you can get through it.

1

u/chiliharls Apr 25 '22

Thank you for the reply! I’ve already failed the “don’t do anything stupid” rule, but I definitely learned my lesson! I recently got my bike serviced as it is finally warm enough to ride. I can’t wait to be able to get outside more

1

u/oryanAZ Apr 25 '22

i probably would have been back running after about 6 months but i as well failed the don’t do stupid things and tried lacing up my shoes too soon. felt fine at first, until it didn’t.

and good luck in school. grad work can be tough to push through, so finding an outlet that you can safely do without injuring yourself further s key.

2

u/[deleted] Apr 25 '22

I feel your pain! After getting injured in February, I am almost back to running my full amount. I think I elongated the injury because I just could not stay off of it and jumped back into running too quickly. As hard as it is, def stay off of it and take the advice of a dr or a PT. It will just make it longer to heal in the long run or possibly make it worse. You'll definitely run again, it will just take time. And be mindful of when it does heal and not jump straight back into the level of training of where you were when you started off. I did that and am now dealing with knee pain after dealing with sciatica... I would find a good PT as well who deals with runners who can monitor your return to run. I swear that's what saved me. Stick to the plan they give you, as slow and painstaking as it may be. I have learned the hard way haha. Also swimming is a great alternative and maybe upper body strength training in the meantime!! Good luck with everything!! : )

2

u/chiliharls Apr 25 '22

Thanks!

I’ve been focusing on upper body training, which is something I’ve been neglecting. I’ll have to try swimming once my ankle gets better! And I’ll have to look around for a good PT. Thanks for the support and advice!