Health · Fitness & Nutrition · 3 hrs ago
Stress reactions can develop into fractures in runners
A stress reaction is an early bone injury that can affect runners, often in the shin but also in bones in the foot, thigh or hip.
The bone weakens and swells but has not cracked.
If the injury is left untreated, it can become a stress fracture.
The two stages can be difficult to tell apart because bone stress injuries develop along a spectrum.
A sudden increase in training without enough rest is a common cause, and added activity, running form and not getting enough energy or nutrients can also raise the risk.
These injuries matter because they can worsen and keep runners from training for months.
The guidance is to build training carefully, allow enough recovery and address aches before they get worse.
A stress reaction is an early bone stress injury that can develop into a stress fracture if left untreated.
Stress reactions occur when bones are overloaded, often after a large increase in training without enough rest.
Runners most often experience these injuries in the tibia, though they can also affect bones in the foot, thigh and hip.
Other risk factors include faulty biomechanics and low energy availability from chronic underfueling.
Experts say the amount of training increase a runner can tolerate depends on factors including fitness and weekly running volume.
- Who
- Runners are at risk of bone stress injuries. Sports medicine experts explain the difference between stress reactions and stress fractures.
- What
- A stress reaction can weaken and swell a bone without cracking it, but it can progress to a stress fracture.
- When
- Not stated
- Where
- These injuries most often occur in the tibia, but can also affect bones in the foot, thigh and hip.
- Why
- Overloading bones can cause stress reactions. Risk factors include a large training increase without enough rest, faulty biomechanics and low energy availability.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
If you’re not getting the energy you need, your body finds a way to get energy and sometimes that’s stealing it from the bone turnover, which can further weaken the bone
This story does not have a timeline yet.
- Most common location
- Tibia (shinbone)
- Other possible locations
- Foot, thigh and hip bones
- Possible weekly mileage increase risk
- More than 10 to 20 percent, depending on fitness and running volume
- Example low weekly volume
- 10 miles
- Example high weekly volume
- 100 miles
Sources
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