Forums >Health and Nutrition>Stress fracture vs. stress reaction
A year and a half ago I had a pelvic stress fracture. I recovered, after 8 months of rest, and was eventually able to run again. I've been running without issue for almost 9 months. Yesterday I felt pain in the same area, opposite side. I don't think it's a fracture, as the pain isn't as acute, and I can hop on that leg without pain, but I am concerned that it may be a stress reaction, and if I ignore it it may turn into another fracture. Without an MRI - how can you tell if it's a stress reaction? How long does a stress reaction take to heal?
Ginny:
Sorry to hear about your injury.
As you know stress reactions and stress fractures are simply points on a continuum of the same mechanism of disease.
You are correct: if it is a stress reaction and you keep stressing the bone to the same extent, it will eventually lead to a stress fracture.
The treatment for both stress reactions and stress fractures is, of course, rest. The duration depends on how good your bones are, the location of the injury, and the severity of injury. I've seen MRI proven stress reactions take 6 weeks to heal.
There really isn't a way to know for sure where you are on that continuum without an MRI. (This is, of course, assuming it's the same thing you had before on the other side--there are other possibilities.)
My respectful suggestion is to get an exam from your doc and see if he/she thinks it's worth getting an MRI at this point.
Good luck!