#1043 When Too Much Healing Becomes a Stress Fracture Problem - DOC %

#1043 When Too Much Healing Becomes a Stress Fracture Problem

Think you have a stress fracture?

Start with the complete stress fracture strategy for runners:

Stress Fracture Running – What
Runners Need To Know

When you get a stress fracture, you want the bone to heal.

But can your body actually produce so much healing bone that the bone callus becomes a
problem?

Yes.

In this episode of the Doc On The Run Podcast, Dr. Christopher Segler explains two very
different ways a huge bone callus can create trouble for a runner.

A big bone callus does not always mean the fracture is healed

Bone callus forms because the body is trying to stabilize a crack. If the fracture keeps moving
because you continue walking, running, or otherwise stressing it, the body may respond by laying
down even more bone.

That can be deceptive. A dramatic callus on an X-ray can look like healing even when the
fracture is still unstable and heading toward nonunion.

Too much callus can also cause problems after the fracture heals

In another runner, the fracture eventually became stable, but repeated irritation over a long
period produced a very large callus around the metatarsal shaft.

The problem was no longer fracture instability. The enlarged bone was taking up space and
crowding the muscles and other soft tissues between the metatarsals, causing aching, soreness, and
swelling.

In this episode you’ll learn:

  • Why bone callus forms around a stress fracture
  • Why a very large callus can mean there has been too much motion
  • How a stress fracture can develop into a nonunion
  • Why simply running shorter or easier may still be too much
  • How excess bone can crowd muscles, nerves, and soft tissues
  • Why a completely healed fracture can still leave a runner with symptoms
  • Why pain, bruising, and swelling should be tracked during recovery
  • Why you need to know the severity of the injury and whether it is actually improving

Free Stress Fracture or Injury Self-Assessment Worksheet

If you think you have a stress fracture, don’t wait and wonder. Figure out how severe the
injury appears right now and track whether it is actually improving.

Download the FREE Stress Fracture or
Injury Self-Assessment Worksheet here.

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