Stress fracture of the foot:

What is a stress fracture of the foot?

Prolonged repeated loads on the legs may cause a stress fracture of the foot. This can be a particular problem for long distance runners. The symptoms of this include:

Pain in the affected bone during exercise. Tenderness and swelling at a point on the bone. It is mainly the lower leg and foot (in the calcaneus, navicular and metatarsal bones) in athletes which are affected with this kind of stress fracture. A stress fracture of the 2nd or 3rd metatarsal bone is sometimes called a 'march fracture' because soldiers running in boots often get it!

Stress fracture symptoms

• During activity pain in the forefoot gets worse .
• Running aggravates pain in the forefoot.
• Tenderness and swelling at a point on the bone.

Often an X-ray of the injured bone will not show any sign of fracture until the fracture has actually started to heal (2-3 weeks later). If a stress fracture is suspected then you should rest completely for 6-8 weeks. Crutches can be helpful.