Forums >Health and Nutrition>Stress Fracture lower leg
Today I was able to go out for my first run since the beginning of October, three sets of 8 minutes walking, 2 minutes running. it was wonderful and horrible at the same time. lots of twinges and aches as everything got used to the running motion again. lots of hating it when i had to stop and wlak again just as i was getting in to the run groove. doc says every other day for at least one month, every week i can increase the running portion....its going to be a process, but at least its finally started!
#RunEveryDay
WohoooO! A start is good. Listen to your body and try not to push it!
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Go for it, you can do that for sure. DO it one step at a time.
so i am starting week four of my rehab
week one: walking only every other day
week two: three sets of 8 min walk/2 min jog every other day
week three three sets of 7 min walk/3 min jog every other day
last friday my leg felt a little tender around the area of the fracture. doctor said it would probably happen, so to take an extra day of rest and then repeat the previous week. i took the whole weekend off and didn't feel anything
today i went out for three sets of 7 min walk/3 min jog and the first set my leg was a bit tender, but not painful, i could just feel it, second set nothing, felt totally fine, third set....just a tiny bit of tenderness but much less than initially. i am outside and it was in the high 20's thismorning...so maybe it's just taking a bit to warm up?? i don't feel like this warrants a trip in to the see the doctor, but also wary of messing something up, not listening to my body yada yada yada and being back in the air cast in a few weeks.
anyone out there who has recovered from a tibial stress fracture that can relate?? or give me some insight? would appreciate it! unsure of what i should do
an amazing likeness
In my case, that nagging tenderness has never gone away 3+ years on. Similar to how you describe...internal (meaning not on skin surface), not quite 'pain', localized. Every now and then, it gets to the point I ice it. My problem was up top -- at the tibial head / plateau.
Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.
Milktruck, so mine is at the bottom, almost to my ankle. so that makes me feel so much better though, i was worried i might be pushing it but i feel like i am taking it so easy! so some tenderness might not be a big deal then? have you changed or done anything differently since the fracture? or did you have to change your running (volume?) when you came back? i started taking Vitamin D and take it every day now, otherwise my hope is by this summer to be back to some volume. i was running 50 mile weeks all last summer up until the leg finally hurt enough that i got it looked at. ideally i would get back to that, if not this year then at least close to it. it does feel like it will take forever at this rate though
runktrun
Agree it does not warrant a trip back to the doc, as milktruck said, the tenderness, or phantom pain, can persist for a while.
The tricky part here is figuring out what YOUR pain means. Maybe it's phantom pain, but maybe it is a warning sign. Since you're still pretty early in your recover process, I'd err on the side of caution and take an extra day off, and then be honest with yourself the next time you run if it's better or worse. Still sounds like a typical SFX, tho, so I wouldn't be too worried.
Not running for my health, but in spite of it.
Kilkee - you are right, i remember reading about phantom pain during the recovery process and completely forgot about it, thank you for bringing it to mind. so how do i know though if it is just "tenderness" or "phantom pain" or something more serious that i need to take time off for? i'm guessing since i noticed it but then it went away, that's one clue, but i have a long history of thinking stuff isn't a big deal and learning the hard way that i pressed my luck to far
SMART Approach
You are doing things the right way coming back. More soreness day to day is a red flag. If you have soreness that you bounce back from, that is normal. Be sure to REALLY loosen up area before runs with hot soak or other heat, toe taps etc. Can I assume you are doing strength work from ankle to glutes?
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Tchuck, yes i do strength work four hours a week at a gym, i try to hit everything over the course of the week, and i vary what i do, sometimes weights, sometimes bands, sometimes just body weight/balance. my doctor had me take it easy while i was in the air cast, no lunges/squats anything that would load the leg to much, but i was cleared to get back to it when the cast came off, so i have been doing leg stuff for the past three weeks. trying to do leg stuff on my run days so that way i get the full day of rest in between
what i have been feeling is really inconsistent, here and there and never lasts long. so i think i'm doing okay now that i got some confirmation from everyone!! i do warm up before i start running, at least ten minutes of running but hadn't thought of the the heat thing.... i have wondered if it is taking me longer to warm up since it is so cold out right now