Stress fracture causes

Jump to navigation Jump to search

Stress fracture Microchapters

Home

Overview

Pathophysiology

Causes

Differentiating a Stress Fracture from other Diseases

Epidemiology and Demographics

Risk Factors

Natural History, Complications and Prognosis

Diagnosis

History and Symptoms

Physical Examination

X Ray

MRI

Other Imaging Findings

Treatment

Non Surgical Therapy

Surgery

Primary Prevention

Cost-Effectiveness of Therapy

Future or Investigational Therapies

Case Studies

Case #1

Stress fracture causes On the Web

Most recent articles

Most cited articles

Review articles

CME Programs

Powerpoint slides

Images

American Roentgen Ray Society Images of Stress fracture causes

All Images
X-rays
Echo & Ultrasound
CT Images
MRI

Ongoing Trials at Clinical Trials.gov

US National Guidelines Clearinghouse

NICE Guidance

FDA on Stress fracture causes

CDC on Stress fracture causes

Stress fracture causes in the news

Blogs on Stress fracture causes

Directions to Hospitals Treating Stress fracture

Risk calculators and risk factors for Stress fracture causes

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Causes

Bones are constantly attempting to remodel and repair themselves, especially during a sport where extraordinary stress is applied to the bone. Over time, if enough stress is placed on the bone that it exhausts the capacity of the bone to remodel, a weakened site -- a stress fracture -- on the bone may appear. The fracture does not appear suddenly. It occurs from repeated traumas, none of which is sufficient to cause a sudden break, but which, when added together, overwhelm the osteoblasts that remodel the bone.

Stress fractures commonly occur in sedentary people who suddenly undertake a burst of exercise (whose bones are not used to the task). They may also occur in Olympic-class athletes who do extraordinary quantities of high-impact exercise, or in soldiers who march long distances.

Muscle fatigue can also play a role in the occurrence of stress fractures. For every mile a runner runs, more than 110 tons of force must be absorbed by the legs. Bones are not made to stand that much energy on their own and the muscles act as shock absorbers for the excess force. But, as muscles become tired and stop absorbing most of the shock, the bones experience greater amounts of stress. Finally, when muscles (usually in the lower leg) become so fatigued that they stop absorbing any shock, all forces are transferred to the bones.

Previous stress fractures have been identified as a risk factor.[1]

References

  1. Kelsey JL, Bachrach LK, Procter-Gray E; et al. (2007). "Risk factors for stress fracture among young female cross-country runners". Med Sci Sports Exerc. 39 (9): 1457–63. doi:10.1249/mss.0b013e318074e54b. PMID 17805074.

Template:WH Template:WS