Metatarsal Stress Fracture :/

[MightySparrow]

Hey guys!

I thought I'd join whiteblaze and check the site out! I heard a lot about it so far on my thru hikeand since I have nothing but time on my hands at the moment, I was hoping I could get some advice.

Got a question for those of you who have experienced this injury when hiking. I made it a month and a half, was up in Grayson Highlands back on May 8th when I suddenly started to get some bad foot pain-- took a zero at Thomas Knob shelter and then had to push on to get to the next road when my foot wasn't feeling any better even after long periods of rest. After getting it checked out, I found I had a metatarsal stress fracture on my second metatarsal. I've been resting my foot, icing it and getting plenty of rest since then but I have to wonder when I should be good to get back onto the trail. Does anyone know other hikers who have dealt with stress fractures and what their waiting period was? Any advice or tips out there? At this point, I am going without any pain, still minor swelling near the spot the stress fracture occurred and I've formed a pretty solid bone callus but I don't want to risk the stress fracture coming back with a vengeance.

Thanks to all those who might know a bit on stress fractures or who have experienced something similar.

[Praha4]

sorry to hear of your misfortune. I experienced a metatarsel stress fracture from long distance running back in 1995, the injury was very similar to yours in the 2nd or 3rd metatarsel. The pain felt almost like shin splints, the pain radiated all the way up my shin. My podiatrist put my foot in one of those soft-boot foot casts, had to wear it 24/7, (except for taking showwers) , the healing took 4-6 weeks. The important thing is to keep the foot immobilized during the healing process, or the bone will not heal properly and you will risk rebreaking it if you start walking/hiking too soon.

good luck

[Blissful]

Let the Dr decide on the course of treatment and when its best to hike again. Make sure you have proper shoes and insoles.

[rocketsocks]

Back in Oct.of 2011 there was an Article that ran in "Trail Runner"magazene.The title of the story was "Feets don't fail me Now"and it profiled all the more prominent feet ailments,your's I believe was called a "Jones Fracture"which is cause when the foot is bent (as in pushing off to come forward)and pushes off on a root or come out of a pot hole.Here nor there take only the advise of your doctor.Sorry to hear about the hike,hoping you get back on your feet soon.And if you would like me to send you the 6 page article PM,or try and look it up online at.

http://www.trailrunnermag.com