Fatigue fracture

Fatigue fractures occur where bone stress is concentrated; they are one of the common training injuries with a high incidence in military training, reported abroad as 31% and domestically as 16.9%. They relate to over-intense training or improper posture, often occurring in frequent long-distance running, cross-country training or overloaded single-item training. They are also common in athletes bearing heavy foot loads, such as basketball, football, tennis, track and field, gymnastics athletes and ballet dancers, and may also occur in middle-aged and elderly people who regularly do heavy exercise.

Common Symptoms

Emotional fatigue; Dong Xuefeng; persistent pain; adduction-type fracture

Causes

After long-term repeated minor local injury, trabecular fracture first occurs and is immediately repaired; if external force continues during repair, repair is hindered and bone resorption increases; repeating this process, when resorption exceeds repair, eventually leads to a complete fracture.

Treatment

Supportive treatment, rehabilitation therapy

Prevention

Fatigue fracture is a cumulative injury process from quantitative to qualitative change, and avoiding bone fatigue injury is the key to prevention. Exercise should be gradual; make a scientific training plan suited to yourself, control exercise load and avoid overloaded exercise that injures bone. Those with heavy exercise load should take in adequate nutrition daily, replenishing calories and water expended, and appropriately increasing calcium and vitamin D intake; a recent study by Creighton University in the US shows that even short-term calcium and vitamin D supplementation significantly reduces stress fracture rates in athletes.

Recommended Department

It is recommended to visit the orthopedic surgery department; before the visit you may first book an appointment and connect with experts through this platform.

Warm reminder: The above information is provided for health education reference only and cannot replace professional medical diagnosis. If you have related symptoms, please seek care at a regular hospital in time.