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Question:

I have been running/triing for 12+ years and have had just about any injury out there, except a stress fracture.  Last Saturday(Dec 28th) I was out for an easy 10 mile run when at mile 9 I felt a ‘pop’ in my upper groin area. Thinking I pulled something I stopped and stretched for 5 minutes but was unable to run another step without severe pain.  I walked to final mile home with only mild discomfort.  There was no warning of any sort and I was running hard or anything out of the ordinary.  I stretched again when I got home and had no pain. 2 days later I tried a couple of jogging steps and had to stop immediately because of the pain.  Same today, 7 days later.  The only way to replicate the pain is running/jogging.  Not stretching, pressing it, etc.  I can’t get into a doctor until middle of next week. Does anyone out there with experience with stress fractures think this sounds familiar?  If not, what else do you think this might be?  I’m very confused as I’m in a down training period and only running 20-30 miles a week as opposed to a normal 35-45 and would think I wasn’t in danger of an over-training injury like this. Thanks for any and all advice.  Thanks. Digger

Response:

Does anyone out there with experience with stress fractures think this sounds familiar?

Doesn’t sound like a stress fracture to me.  I had one in my shin and (at least in my case) there was nothing sudden or severe about it.  Came on slow and was more of a dull pain.  I did a marathon on it before I had it properly diagnosed. James

Response:

Does anyone out there with experience with stress fractures think this sounds familiar?

Not a stress fracture. Bill R.

Response:

| I was out for |an easy 10 mile run when at mile 9 I felt a ‘pop’ in my upper groin area. At the worst, pelvic fracture. At the best, musculotendon strain.

Response:

I’m no doctor, but I think this guy’s probably right.  I thought a hernia, but the "pop" sounds like bone.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – | I was out for |an easy 10 mile run when at mile 9 I felt a ‘pop’ in my upper groin area. At the worst, pelvic fracture. At the best, musculotendon strain.

Response:

Doesn’t sound like a stress fracture, and these are very rare in the upper leg/pelvic area. Sometimes muscle pulls and tears "feel" like they are popping or making a sound even though bones are not involved. I pulled a hamstring in very cold weather playing football, and the "snap" was so palpable I thought I heard a gun shot fired at the back of my leg. Most running stress fractures involve the lower leg and their effects come on slowly, often mistaken for tendonitis or other problems. You should definitely cut back on running and/or take every other day off. You may be able to replace this time with swimming (very easy) or cycling (relatively easy). If you have pain doing these things as well, then you may have a very serious problem and should seek medical diagnosis. If you just can’t run at all without pain, take several days off and cross-train. If you can’t even cross-train, you have a serious problem (yes, I’m repeating myself on purpose). Also backtrack in your training and check to see if you have been: 1. Increasing run mileage sharply, more than 10% per week. 2. Recently ran a marathon or a race much longer than you usually do. 3. Changed running surfaces, such as from trails to pavement, or different inclines of pavement. 4. Changed nutrition or overall body weight, gained pounds, lost a LOT of pounds, etc. 5. Took just about any form of medication. 6. Stopped taking nutritional supplements like vitamins, minerals, or other micronutrients, or added new ones. 7. Changed running technique, or style or equipment in other sports (bike fit, swim drills, etc.) Sometimes a problem in one area can originate with a change in an opposing area in another part of the body. A chiropractor or kinesiologist can really help you hear. And of course a standard MD who has RUNNING EXPERIENCE can also help. Unfortunately, non-running doctors can easily become confused and wrongly diagnose these kinds of problems with statements like, "This is very serious. You need to give up running, maybe forever," or "you need major surgery." If you are master’s athlete, it may be true you need to spend more time on the bike and in the pool and less on the run, but this should not necessarily hurt your triathlon performance. As for medical diagnosis, an X-ray or even better, an ultrasound, should show conclusive whether there is indeed a fracture–end of mystery. That out of the way, then you can move on to figuring out what it really is.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have been running/triing for 12+ years and have had just about any injury out there, except a stress fracture.  Last Saturday(Dec 28th) I was out for an easy 10 mile run when at mile 9 I felt a ‘pop’ in my upper groin area. Thinking I pulled something I stopped and stretched for 5 minutes but was unable to run another step without severe pain.  I walked to final mile home with only mild discomfort.  There was no warning of any sort and I was running hard or anything out of the ordinary.  I stretched again when I got home and had no pain. 2 days later I tried a couple of jogging steps and had to stop immediately because of the pain.  Same today, 7 days later.  The only way to replicate the pain is running/jogging.  Not stretching, pressing it, etc.  I can’t get into a doctor until middle of next week. Does anyone out there with experience with stress fractures think this sounds familiar?  If not, what else do you think this might be?  I’m very confused as I’m in a down training period and only running 20-30 miles a week as opposed to a normal 35-45 and would think I wasn’t in danger of an over-training injury like this. Thanks for any and all advice.  Thanks. Digger

Response:

That  strike by Virginai doctors is not over insurance, it’s over fear that their jobs will be lost to the internet doctors.   Ben – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’m no doctor, but I think this guy’s probably right.  I thought a hernia, but the "pop" sounds like bone. | I was out for |an easy 10 mile run when at mile 9 I felt a ‘pop’ in my upper groin area. At the worst, pelvic fracture. At the best, musculotendon strain.

Response:

<snip Also backtrack in your training and check to see if you have been:

<snip He should also backtrack to the point on that fateful run where the "pop" occurred to see if he dropped any parts. Ben

Response:

<snippage Unfortunately, non-running doctors can easily become confused and wrongly diagnose these kinds of problems with statements like, "This is very serious. You need to give up running, maybe forever," or "you need major surgery."

<snippage I had a problem similar to the one decribed, and this is *precisely* what I was told by an orthopedist.  My problem was a blazing pain in the left hip joint that made it extremely painful to run.  However, after about 2 km, the pain would go away, and I’d be okay.  After I stopped however, within 10 minutes, the pain was so bad it was difficult to walk until the joint had warmed up again (Oh, I was 26 at the time, so presumably it wasn’t old age ) I went to a doctor who said the ball at the top of my femur was too big for the hip and I’d never be able to run again without pain.  I did get a prescription for physio though.  The (excellent) physiotherapist said he’d never seen anything like this before but he tried a lot of stuff to see if he could make an impact on it.  The thing that finally worked was me laying on by back, my left knee touching my chest and a bedsheet all wound up so that it was like a rope looped around the hip as close to the joint as possible (if this isn’t clear, I’ll try to explain better) and while I held my knee at my chest, the physiotherapist pulled with all his body weight away from me, basically pulling the head of my femur away from the hip.  It was like magic.  Seriously. Now, I’m not saying you should do exactly this, but a good physiotherapist might be able to help you.  I’d go with the recommendation of getting it looked at properly by a doctor to eliminate the possibility of a fracture, but I’d be very surprised if it was any sort of fracture. Oh, and now whenever my hip acts up, I have my wife do the ‘resetting’ thing. Cheers, Walter R. Strapps

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have been running/triing for 12+ years and have had just about any injury out there, except a stress fracture.  Last Saturday(Dec 28th) I was out for an easy 10 mile run when at mile 9 I felt a ‘pop’ in my upper groin area. Thinking I pulled something I stopped and stretched for 5 minutes but was unable to run another step without severe pain.  I walked to final mile home with only mild discomfort.  There was no warning of any sort and I was running hard or anything out of the ordinary.  I stretched again when I got home and had no pain. 2 days later I tried a couple of jogging steps and had to stop immediately because of the pain.  Same today, 7 days later.  The only way to replicate the pain is running/jogging.  Not stretching, pressing it, etc.  I can’t get into a doctor until middle of next week. Does anyone out there with experience with stress fractures think this sounds familiar?  If not, what else do you think this might be?  I’m very confused as I’m in a down training period and only running 20-30 miles a week as opposed to a normal 35-45 and would think I wasn’t in danger of an over-training injury like this. Thanks for any and all advice.  Thanks. Digger

Sounds like a common groin pull. You can’t stretch your way out of it, but you might have caused it by stretching. Deep lunges can bring it on. Perhaps you did this stretch before the easy run.

Response:

I’ve seen people do amazing things in marathons.  Saw a guy do Chicago on crutches, tell me he wasn’t in pain?  Pain is a normal part of a marathon for many.

He wasn’t in pain because there was obviously something wrong with his brain, and pain is perceived in the brain. Ben

Response:

No, Digger’s post, the originator of the thread. One person said they had three stress fractures in reply, and I’ll bet he did NOT do a marathon. What you had DOES sound like a stress fracture, something that feels worse and worse, a sharper pain as the long run proceeds. The "normal" pain of a marathon: leg soreness, glycogen depletion, and cardiovascular fatigue are NOT the same thing as sharp, piercing pain in a localized area. I assume I am going to feel the former if I run a fast marathon, if I feel the latter I know something is wrong and I will pull up to walk or at least run slower. If I know I feel that way BEFORE the marathon, I won’t attempt it. Fortunately, even in a long training run, I have only had to walk back home once in five years of running, and that was my first year when I did not know how to listen to my body as well, and I weighted 20 pounds more than I should. Now I have "bonked" or overpaced in a long marathon (standalone and ironman) a couple of times, and though this is no fun, somewhat painful and not recommended, it is not injury and merely causes walking or dramatic slowing of pace. In fact, these occurences were when I was in prime fitness, not at all injured, and was just plain overconfident about going heart-rate goals and thinking I could get away with it. Mostly, it’s the pain of disappointment and not being able to go fast no matter how much pain you can endure, which in some ways feels worse than sharp soreness–an emotional let down, a bruising of the ego–yet highly educational since you learn not to repeat the same mistakes in future races. Of course, some people will try to overcome any kind of pain to finish a race, especially if they are inexperienced and they have "put everything" into that one race. I can understand someone doing something like that to finish Kona for the first time, or maybe their first marathon. But I’ve done enough Ironmans and Marathons not to let any one of them freak me out. The best bet is to avoid the race altogether if you think it’s likely you are unprepared or unduly injured. Interestingly enough, I do not see people do the "kamikaze act" of racing while injured as one sees with American Football, martial arts, boxing, etc. Most of us are too intelligent, and the culture of endurance sports doesn’t breed "hurtfulness" for its own sake toward self or others. People do inadvertently get struck down by dehydration, bonking, cramps–sometimes dangerously so–but this is not deliberate "pain mongering," just a kind of forgetfullness in the long struggle about what’s going on with their bodies.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – With all due respect to other people’s problems related on this thread, I don’t see how you could finish a marathon comfortably with a true stress fracture. I don’t know if you are refering to my post but I never said I did the marathon in comfort.  I was on a PR pace up until about 18 and had to walk the last 6.  Still did a 4:10 even with the walking though.  I did not have the problem diagnosed as a stress fracture until after the marathon. They usually get worse and worse for longer distances over an hour. Most people would not even attempt a marathon with that kind of pain. I’ve seen people do amazing things in marathons.  Saw a guy do Chicago on crutches, tell me he wasn’t in pain?  Pain is a normal part of a marathon for many.

Response:

With all due respect to other people’s problems related on this thread, I don’t see how you could finish a marathon comfortably with a true stress fracture.

I don’t know if you are refering to my post but I never said I did the marathon in comfort.  I was on a PR pace up until about 18 and had to walk the last 6.  Still did a 4:10 even with the walking though.  I did not have the problem diagnosed as a stress fracture until after the marathon. They usually get worse and worse for longer distances over an hour. Most people would not even attempt a marathon with that kind of

pain. I’ve seen people do amazing things in marathons.  Saw a guy do Chicago on crutches, tell me he wasn’t in pain?  Pain is a normal part of a marathon for many.

Response:

With all due respect to other people’s problems related on this thread, I don’t see how you could finish a marathon comfortably with a true stress fracture. They usually get worse and worse for longer distances over an hour. Most people would not even attempt a marathon with that kind of pain. Still, you should be careful and stick with a higher percentage of cross-training as the problem heals. Check your shoes and other orthopedic factors. Don’t frustrate yourself by getting mostly healed, then having it come back again. Find out the true cause and prevent its recurrence. This is never 100%, either the diagnosis or the prognosis for prevention, but you can become sure enough to feel confident. Running is not as unpredictable as most of the other problems of life.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Excellent promo for the physiotherapist (physical therapist)!  Digger, I would go see an orthopedist (MD) and let him evaluate you.  With the "pop" you wanna make sure that your groin muscle (if this is the culprit) did not pull away from the bone slightly, causing an "avulsion fracture."  An x-ray would rule out any other bony involvement as well.  Get a prescription fot physical therapy (orthopedics or sports PT would be best).  This way you get sound medical advice and treatment, and avoid the risk of further injury. Good luck. lc Thanks for all the great advice.  I’m beginning to believe this is not a stress fracture.  I was able to run the final mile of a marathon yesterday with my wife with no pain(though quite slow:)). I’m now thinking it’s a pull/strain of some sort.  The confusing part is I’ve never had a pull/strain when I was just running normally(not sprinting, jumping, slashing, etc). Swimming and cycling have been fine and I’m going to try an easy run today. Wish me luck.  Thanks again for all the advice. Digger

Response:

Excellent promo for the physiotherapist (physical therapist)!  Digger, I would go see an orthopedist (MD) and let him evaluate you.  With the "pop" you wanna make sure that your groin muscle (if this is the culprit) did not pull away from the bone slightly, causing an "avulsion fracture."  An x-ray would rule out any other bony involvement as well.  Get a prescription fot physical therapy (orthopedics or sports PT would be best).  This way you get sound medical advice and treatment, and avoid the risk of further injury. Good luck. lc

Thanks for all the great advice.  I’m beginning to believe this is not a stress fracture.  I was able to run the final mile of a marathon yesterday with my wife with no pain(though quite slow:)). I’m now thinking it’s a pull/strain of some sort.  The confusing part is I’ve never had a pull/strain when I was just running normally(not sprinting, jumping, slashing, etc). Swimming and cycling have been fine and I’m going to try an easy run today. Wish me luck.  Thanks again for all the advice. Digger

Response:

Excellent promo for the physiotherapist (physical therapist)!  Digger, I would go see an orthopedist (MD) and let him evaluate you.  With the "pop" you wanna make sure that your groin muscle (if this is the culprit) did not pull away from the bone slightly, causing an "avulsion fracture."  An x-ray would rule out any other bony involvement as well.  Get a prescription fot physical therapy (orthopedics or sports PT would be best).  This way you get sound medical advice and treatment, and avoid the risk of further injury. Good luck. lc

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Doesn’t sound like a stress fracture, and these are very rare in the upper leg/pelvic area. Sometimes muscle pulls and tears "feel" like they are popping or making a sound even though bones are not involved. I pulled a hamstring in very cold weather playing football, and the "snap" was so palpable I thought I heard a gun shot fired at the back of my leg. Most running stress fractures involve the lower leg and their effects come on slowly, often mistaken for tendonitis or other problems. You should definitely cut back on running and/or take every other day off. You may be able to replace this time with swimming (very easy) or cycling (relatively easy). If you have pain doing these things as well, then you may have a very serious problem and should seek medical diagnosis. If you just can’t run at all without pain, take several days off and cross-train. If you can’t even cross-train, you have a serious problem (yes, I’m repeating myself on purpose). Also backtrack in your training and check to see if you have been: 1. Increasing run mileage sharply, more than 10% per week. 2. Recently ran a marathon or a race much longer than you usually do. 3. Changed running surfaces, such as from trails to pavement, or different inclines of pavement. 4. Changed nutrition or overall body weight, gained pounds, lost a LOT of pounds, etc. 5. Took just about any form of medication. 6. Stopped taking nutritional supplements like vitamins, minerals, or other micronutrients, or added new ones. 7. Changed running technique, or style or equipment in other sports (bike fit, swim drills, etc.) Sometimes a problem in one area can originate with a change in an opposing area in another part of the body. A chiropractor or kinesiologist can really help you hear. And of course a standard MD who has RUNNING EXPERIENCE can also help. Unfortunately, non-running doctors can easily become confused and wrongly diagnose these kinds of problems with statements like, "This is very serious. You need to give up running, maybe forever," or "you need major surgery." If you are master’s athlete, it may be true you need to spend more time on the bike and in the pool and less on the run, but this should not necessarily hurt your triathlon performance. As for medical diagnosis, an X-ray or even better, an ultrasound, should show conclusive whether there is indeed a fracture–end of mystery. That out of the way, then you can move on to figuring out what it really is. I have been running/triing for 12+ years and have had just about any injury out there, except a stress fracture.  Last Saturday(Dec 28th) I was out for an easy 10 mile run when at mile 9 I felt a ‘pop’ in my upper groin area. Thinking I pulled something I stopped and stretched for 5 minutes but was unable to run another step without severe pain.  I walked to final mile home with only mild discomfort.  There was no warning of any sort and I was running hard or anything out of the ordinary.  I stretched again when I got home and had no pain. 2 days later I tried a couple of jogging steps and had to stop immediately because of the pain.  Same today, 7 days later.  The only way to replicate the pain is running/jogging.  Not stretching, pressing it, etc.  I can’t get into a doctor until middle of next week. Does anyone out there with experience with stress fractures think this sounds familiar?  If not, what else do you think this might be?  I’m very confused as I’m in a down training period and only running 20-30 miles a week as opposed to a normal 35-45 and would think I wasn’t in danger of an over-training injury like this. Thanks for any and all advice.  Thanks. Digger

As the unfortunate survivor of three stress fractures (one in the upper femur, two in the fibula), and someone who has researched stress fractures quite alot while recovering, I can say with some confidence that hearing a ‘pop’ with pain after, but without pain before is unlikely to be a stress fracture.  Can you stand on that one leg?  Can you hop up and down on the afflicted side?  What is the pain like, is it sharp or dull?  Stress fractures have a dull pain.  While my doctor was confused about the femur fracture, a bone scan confirmed what the hop test showed.  Finally, in all my stress fractures a week off didn’t help in the least. Best of luck, Jeff —

Response:

 Can someone who has had a stress fracture of the foot post information on how to tell if you have a stress fracture. I suspect I have one. Pain is very intense on the outside of the foot about two inches back from little toe extending to just below the ankle bone when I walk for over five minutes.

Response:

Dear solajo, I had a stress fracture and it felt like a burning sensation.  I went to a sport medicine doctor.  He x-ray’d it (where it didn’t really show)  and then I got a bone scan (even I could see it in the bone scan). country skiing. I had to wear stiff boots to the gym and stick to the stair master. (flat footed so that I didn’t flex my foot.) Good luck, Johnny – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –  Can someone who has had a stress fracture of the foot post information on how to tell if you have a stress fracture. I suspect I have one. Pain is very intense on the outside of the foot about two inches back from little toe extending to just below the ankle bone when I walk for over five minutes.

Response:

I am on my second stress fracture.  My first came when I was 15 in the middle of a 15-mile road race.  The fracture was in the bone above the middle toe (sorry, I don’t remember the latin name for the bone).  It hurt like hell after about mile 7 and I had to stop after 12 miles.  It’s been a long time, but I don’t remember that walking hurt it much , nor did riding a bike. Now, at age 42, I have another one that came on like tendonitis above my ankle in early spring.  I ran with it for weeks, and at first it hurt only while I was warming up, going away after about two miles.  But it got gradually worse, and when I could no longer warm up for races properly because of growing discomfort, I went to the doctor, where an X-ray revealed a stress fracture of the fibula. Probably your best bet is to get to a doctor for an X-ray — although my doc said stress fractures don’t always show up. Good luck. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Can someone who has had a stress fracture of the foot post information on how to tell if you have a stress fracture. I suspect I have one. Pain is very intense on the outside of the foot about two inches back from little toe extending to just below the ankle bone when I walk for over five minutes.

Response:

   Last spring during track season I had stress fractures on both of my Tibia.. Stress fractures feel like pinching or poking and no matter what you do nothing eases the pain. My best advice is go to the doctor . Because i didn`t and, now I can`t run like I used to. If you decide not to go to the doctor. Take time off from running and swim instead, then take calcium tablets with Oyster shell to heal the fracture.

Response:

I had 3 – both femurs and right tibia. Felt like very bad shin splints on the outside of the shins. Femurs didn’t hurt at all (wonder why). X-rays also showed nothing. Bone scan showed fractures. Godd luck.

Response: