Stress fracture non surgical therapy
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Non Surgical Therapy
If a stress fracture occurs in a weightbearing bone, healing will be delayed or prevented by continuing to put weight on that limb.
Rest is the only way to completely heal a stress fracture. The average time of complete rest from the activity that caused the stress fracture is three weeks. A fracture requires 4 to 8 weeks of recuperation, however, which may include no more than light use of the injured body part, as long as activity does not cause pain. After the recuperative period, another 2 weeks of mild activity without any pain may be recommended before the bone may be safely considered healed and activity may gradually increase.
During this time, it is advised that training errors be identified (for instance, too much, too soon) and avoided in the future. One rule of thumb is to not increase the volume of training by more than 10% from one week to the next.
Rehabilitation usually consists of muscle strength training to help dissipate the excessive forces transmitted to the bones.
Applying ice on the affected area where the stress fracture occurs for three minutes or more is a good way to treat it.
In some cases, an electronic stimulator or bone stimulator may be used. These devices send electrical impulses into the bone to promote healing; recent studies have shown that the bone heals naturally via electromagnetic stimulation.
Electromagnetically stimulating the bone causes the bone to lay out more bone cells that strengthen the bone.
Bracing or casting the limb with a hard plastic boot or air cast may also prove beneficial by taking some stress off the stress fracture. An air cast has pre-inflated cells that put light pressure on the bone, which promotes healing by increasing blood flow to the area and takes away a lot of the pain because of the pressure it applies to the bone. If the stress fracture is severe enough, crutches also help to take all stress off the bone.