#753 Fibula stress reaction vs stress fracture what is the difference?

If you have ankle pain and you push around on that lump of bone on the outside of your ankle, you may realize that you have pain on the bone specifically.

If so, you might become worried that you have a thing called a fibular stress fracture.

If you start trying to figure out what to do, one of the first things you may find is a lot of discussion about something called a “stress reaction” instead of just a “stress fracture”.

What’s the difference between a fibular stress reaction and a stress fracture in a runner?

Well, that’s what we’re talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.

#546 Waiting for x-ray of stress fracture miss the window

The worst runner to call me for a second opinion is someone who has been in a fracture walking boot or not running for 12 weeks or so. Why is that so bad? Well, they’re extremely aggravated. They’ve seen at least one doctor, probably a bunch of times. They’ve probably had several x-rays. They’ve been waiting and waiting but they’re not getting better and they’re very upset about that. Today on the Doc On The Run podcast, we’re talking about how waiting for an x-ray can cause you to miss your window with a stress fracture.

#544 Stress fracture wishes as fodder for facts

In this episode we’re talking about stress fractures and we’re talking about what happens when you as a runner, wished something to be true and it’s not a fact. It’s really important that you understand this. Some of the wishes are things like, well, I want to run. The second one is I don’t want there to be a crack on my x-ray. Some facts are, well, my podiatrist took an x-ray and there was no crack. So what does that do? Today on the Doc On The Run podcast, we’re talking about stress fracture wishes as fodder for facts.

#518 How long to wait before running with a stress fracture?

I got a question from a runner who’s had a metatarsal stress fracture who’s very frustrated, who’s trying to figure out how to get back to running. He went and saw a doctor and he was told that he had a stress fracture and the doctor told him to take some time off of running. Then he started watching some YouTube videos, started listening to some podcasts, and then asked me a very serious question: How long do I have to wait to run with a metatarsal stress fracture? Well, that’s what we’re talking about today on the Doc On the Run podcast.

#503 First aid for metatarsal stress fracture in a runner

Let’s say you’re out on a run and you start noticing this weird aching pain in your foot and so you suspect you have a metatarsal stress fracture. I often get consultation calls and webcam visits, and I even do house calls for athletes who have metatarsal stress fractures. The good news is that a lot of the times, if you actually do something, when you first notice that aching pain in your foot, when you’re running, it may not actually be a true stress fracture. Today on the Doc On The Run podcast we’re talking about the five most important things you can do for first aid for a metatarsal stress fracture if you’re a runner.

#463 Do I need a bone stimulator for a Grade 5 Stress Fracture?

I just did a second opinion consultation with a runner who called and said she was diagnosed with a grade five stress fracture.
The doctor didn’t actually explain what that meant. He just said it was serious.
Stress fracture are rates by severity with grade one through a grade five. Grade five is obviously the worst to runner.
She wanted to know if she needed a bone stimulator since her stress fracture was serious.
Do I need a bone stimulator for a grade five stress fracture? That’s what we’re talking about today on the Doc On The Run podcast.

#459 How bad is Grade 3 Stress Fracture?

Today’s episode actually comes from a podcast listener who had a question:

“I got an MRI just to give me the green light to resume training and it showed a grade three stress reaction of the left tibia. Do you think I can run?”

Deciding whether or not you can run with a stress fracture really depends on understanding how bad it was when it started, and how bad it is right now.

How bad is a grade three stress fracture? Well, that’s what we’re talking about today on the Doc on the Run podcast.

#428 My doctor said my stress fracture is a delayed union

This is a question sent in by a listener to the Doc On The Run Podcast and this is someone who’s had a stress fracture, and it’s now turned into what the doctor called a delayed union.

She said, “My doctor has told me that my stress fracture is now a delayed union. What does that really mean? What is a non-union? What’s a delayed union?”

Well, that’s what we’re talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.

#412 Runner with a stress fracture that was never broken

How is it that a runner can actually have a stress fracture that was never even broken in the first place?

Well, this is a real-world situation that I had with a runner who called me for a second opinion.

It was a runner who thought he had a stress fracture, who even had an MRI that showed a stress fracture. The doctor said it was a stress fracture. But it wasn’t actually a stress fracture at all.

Today, on the Doc On The Run podcast, we’re talking about a runner with a stress fracture that was never broken.

#408 Top 3 Stress Fracture Takeaways from IFAF Sonoma

This episode comes from a lecture I was giving at a medical conference just last week.

One of the lectures was on the differences between stress response, stress reaction, and stress fractures in athletes.

There are really just a few main points doctors need to understand when treating runners with stress fractures.

Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast, we’re talking about the top three stress fracture takeaways from the International Foot and Ankle Foundation meeting in Sonoma, California.