Stress Fractures in the foot

[The Wanna Bs]

I am planning to thru-hike in 2017 and have been doing some prep hikes. I recently did the Lone Star Trail through the Sam Houston National Forest which is a little less than 100 miles. Trouble is that I achieved a stress fracture in my foot. Is this common with hiking? I have not seen it mentioned in any of the 100 or so trail journals I have read. Hiking the AT is very important to me. I am not getting any younger.

[Traveler]

I don't know how common foot stress fractures are, they are far more common in the shins. If you had a medical diagnosis of this, you probably got medical advice on how to care for the injury. If you've not gotten a medical diagnosis, get one quickly. The longer you go without that the more likely you are to do some serious or permanent damage.

Staying off the injury is the most common remedy, the bone(s) are partially broken and need time to knit and heal. This is usually followed by a period of slow building exercises to strengthen the area of the injury. Foot gear may have to change and very likely have been the source of the trauma.

Good luck!

[Don H]

How much weight you carrying?

[Spirit Walker]

What kind of shoes were you wearing? When people began switching from boots to lightweight shoes, without lightening their packs sufficiently, there seemed to be more stress fractures reported on the PCT. Are you overweight? You might need shoes with more padding or softer insoles.

Have you had your bone density tested?

[MuddyWaters]

Stress fractures are overuse injuries.
You have to gradually build up mileage and give body time to adapt to avoid injury.
Runners know this. Many new hikers dont. They discover a lot of various problems the hard way. Mostly tendonitis and ITB, but also stress fractures, knee issues, ankle issues, etc.

The less wt you carry, the less of an issue it will be. Let it heal 5 weeks and start retraining slowly.

[Wülfgang]

Stress fractures are commonly seen in military recruits, athletes, and long-distance runners.

The cause is usually cyclic loading of the bone. Repetitive impact eventually fatigues supportive muscles and this stress is transferred to the bone, most commonly the tibial shaft and metatarsal shafts of the foot. Age and certain medications (PPIs, bisphosphonates) can decrease bone density over the long term; but in an otherwise healthy hiker under the age of 65 or so, the culprit is usually too much too fast. Worn-out or stiff footwear could also be a compounding factor. In general you want your shoes to absorb more force than your bone.

[Marta]

There was a report a few years ago showing that increasing the amount of calcium in the diet reduced the incidence of stress fractures among female military recruits.

Your muscles build up strength quite rapidly compared to your hard tissues. It takes six months or so to increase your bone density through exercise. Factor that into your hiking preparations.

[Elder]

Stress fractures are common as you go north.
Primary causes are; multiple hours of hiking with any amount of weight. Using inadequate footwear, five fingers, minimalist shoes, or the big cause, wore out shoes.
Plan to replace your footwear (trail shoes/runners) every 500 miles; midweights 800-1000 miles.
If you have foot issues, get fit by a pro, use good insoles, buy good shoes.
Take care of your feet, they are your primary travel method.

[burger]

There was a report a few years ago showing that increasing the amount of calcium in the diet reduced the incidence of stress fractures among female military recruits.

Your muscles build up strength quite rapidly compared to your hard tissues. It takes six months or so to increase your bone density through exercise. Factor that into your hiking preparations.

If your calcium intake is inadequate, a doctor might suggest calcium supplements. But if you already get enough calcium, extra calcium can actually be harmful to your health.

Remember: just because you can buy all those supplements at the drug store doesn't mean that they're good for you.

[pauly_j]

I do a lot of running and always have. I had a stress fracture of my metatarsal that turned into a full-on break (which I then walked around on for another 3 weeks before they x-ray'd me). The bone that broke is now significantly thicker and stronger, as the bone heals itself around the breakage.

I wouldn't worry too much about it, they can just happen. Professional athletes get them and it's not like they've just started training. As people have already said, just be careful with the loads you're carrying, work your way up to heavier weights/longer distances, rest & eat well. If you have continued discomfort or repeat/similar damage then see someone.

Do you have big arches? A penchant for wearing high-heels? That could put a strain on your bones. Invest in some good insoles with support.

[The Wanna Bs]

Thanks to all for the replies. I obviously don't get on here quickly enough. My fracture healed. I had to wear a boot for awhile. I do have to take extra calcium do to bone loss. I did probably go to far with too much weight though we had brought our base weight down to under 30 for the 100 mile hike - including water weight but not food.
We will be bringing the weight down a little further I hope. We do plan on going a little slower at least to start with. I had my feet operated on as a child and have very high arches. I have to have good support shoes and have never been able to wear high heels.
Thanks for all the great advise. Thank you also for the encouragement.