Symptoms of a femoral stress fracture
- Symptoms include a dull ache deep in the general area of the thigh.
- There is likely to be pain when a bending force is applied to the femur. ...
- Symptoms may also be referred to the knee.
- An X-ray may or may not show up the stress fracture but a bone scan or MRI should give a more accurate diagnosis.
What are the signs and symptoms of a stress fracture?
Signs and symptoms of a stress fracture may include: Pain that develops gradually, increases with weight-bearing activity, and diminishes with rest; Pain that becomes more severe during normal, daily activities; Swelling ; Tenderness to touch and possible bruising
How long does it take to recover from a broken femur?
The majority of people who suffer a femur fracture receive specialized treatment in a long-term nursing or rehabilitation facility. Full recovery from a femur fracture can take anywhere from 12 weeks to 12 months; however, most people begin walking with the help of a physical therapist in the first day or two after injury and/or surgery.
What symptoms can occur in severe fractures?
These can include:
- Blood clots: Blockage of a blood vessel that can break free and move through the body.
- Cast-wearing complications: Can include pressure ulcers (sores) and joint stiffness.
- Compartment syndrome: Bleeding or swelling within the muscles surrounding the fracture.
- Hemarthrosis: Bleeding into the joint, causing it to swell.
What are the first signs of a metatarsal stress fracture?
Symptoms of a metatarsal stress fracture include:
- Pain in the forefoot which develops gradually over time.
- The pain will be usually be located towards the middle, or front of the foot.
- Symptoms are made worse with weight-bearing activities such as walking, running or dancing.
- Your foot will be tender to touch. ...
- Swelling is often present.
What does a femoral shaft stress fracture feel like?
A stress fracture of the shaft of the femur is characterised by a dull ache felt in the front of the thigh that will develop over a period of weeks. The pain is often hard to localise and may even be felt in the knee.
Can you walk with a femoral stress fracture?
Signs and symptoms of a femoral stress fracture Pain may also cause the patient to cease activity. Occasionally, pain may radiate to the knee or back of the thigh. In severe cases, walking or standing may be enough to aggravate symptoms.
How common is a femoral stress fracture?
Stress fractures in the hip and pelvis region (femoral neck, pubis, sacrum, and ischium) are more common in female runners and should not be missed, as a possible differential diagnosis of hip and groin pain. Femoral stress fractures account for around 11% of all stress fractures in the athletic population.
Do I have a femoral stress fracture?
Symptoms of a femoral stress fracture Symptoms include a dull ache deep in the general area of the thigh. There is likely to be pain when a bending force is applied to the femur.
Where is the pain with a femoral stress fracture?
A femoral stress fracture often starts with a deep, dull gnawing or aching in the groin (inside of the leg) or front of the hip. Sometimes, the pain is felt in the thigh. It may even travel down into the knee. The pain is more noticeable when you walk or put weight on the leg.
What is the most common location for a femur stress fracture?
Femoral stress fractures mainly develop on the medial compression side of the femoral shaft, within the proximal and middle thirds of the bone. The highest incidence is seen at the femoral neck.
What are 4 signs of a stress fracture?
What are the symptoms of a stress fracture?Pain, swelling or aching at the site of fracture.Tenderness or “pinpoint pain” when touched on the bone.Pain that begins after starting an activity and then resolves with rest.Pain that's present throughout the activity and does not go away after the activity has ended.More items...•
What can be mistaken for a stress fracture?
Stress fractures are often “invisible” injuries and don't always show outward signs like swelling or bruising. Also, the symptoms can easily be confused with pain from other injuries such as a tendon tear, ligament sprain, or muscle strain.
What happens if you leave a stress fracture untreated?
Stress fracture complications On the contrary, ignoring your stress fracture can lead to a range of complications, such as: Additional stress fractures. Delayed healing and increased pain. Worsening to a complete fracture.
What does a minor stress fracture feel like?
Pain, aching, and tenderness that worsens during and after physical activity or movement. Relief from pain during periods of rest. Swelling on the ankle or top of your foot. Bruising and swelling at the site of the stress fracture.
Does stress fracture hurt all the time?
At first, you might barely notice the pain associated with a stress fracture, but it tends to worsen with time. The tenderness usually starts at a specific spot and decreases during rest.
What does a small stress fracture feel like?
You likely feel a dull ache where the fracture is located. The pain intensifies when you're on your feet and lessens or goes away when you're resting. Over half of stress fractures are in the lower leg/ankle. If the fracture has gone untreated for a while, you feel significant pain when you bear any weight on the foot.
Can walking worsen a stress fracture?
Pain from stress fractures usually develops gradually and is worse during weight-bearing activities.
Will a stress fracture heal if you walk on it?
Will a stress fracture heal if you walk on it? Yes and no. It depends on how much you walk and how severe your injury is. If it hurts to walk, then it's usually a sign that you shouldn't be walking or that you should at least reduce the amount of walking to a level that doesn't cause pain.
Can I keep walking on a stress fracture?
It is important to rest your foot. Elevate your foot to decrease swelling and pain. Do not do the activity or exercise that caused your fracture. If walking is painful, your doctor may advise you to use crutches to help support your body weight when you walk.
How long should you not walk on a stress fracture?
You should stop all high-impact activity for a time, typically for about six weeks. Icing and elevating the affected leg immediately following a stress fracture can help decrease swelling and pain.
How does a femoral neck fracture feel?
The pain will also start to take longer to go away, and occasionally it will hurt with activities of daily living, such as walking. Typically pain from a femoral neck stress fracture is felt more in the groin than the lateral side (outside) of the hip or in the buttock. Often range of motion causes groin pain.
How to treat a stress fracture in the femoral neck?
Due to the risk of poor healing and potential fracture, many sports medicine physicians place the patient on crutches and make the patient completely nonweightbearing. On the upper side (superior) of the femoral neck, these are more worrisome injuries. In this area, the stress fracture often does not heal with nonoperative treatment. Surgical treatment involves placing several screws into the femoral neck to compress the fracture and get it to heal.
What is a femoral neck stress fracture?
A femoral neck stress fracture is a stress fracture of the proximal femur at the hip that most commonly occurs in runners or other athletes who perform repetitive impact to the lower extremities. Athletes often complain of increasing hip and groin pain during runs ...
How long does it take for a fractured bone to heal?
Regardless of the treatment, activities such as sports and exercise are restricted or limited until the fracture heals. Often being completely nonweightbearing is necessary for many weeks. A doctor might hold a patient out of sports for three to four months. While the recovery and healing process is lengthy, often return to sports is uneventful once healing occurs.
Can a groin fracture cause pain in the neck?
A doctor’s physical examination will demonstrate pain in the groin and pain with range of motion. It can often be difficult to localize the pain specifically to the femoral neck. X-rays will often show the injury as a nondisplaced or hairline fracture through the neck of the femur, or at least one side of it.
Can running hurt your hips?
Athletes often complain of increasing hip and groin pain during runs that begins to take longer to go away. Treatment depends on where the injury occurs. These are serious injuries, so physicians will often place the patient on crutches and make the patient completely non-weight bearing.
Does stress fracture heal?
In this area, the stress fracture often does not heal with nonoperative treatment. Surgical treatment involves placing several screws into the femoral neck to compress the fracture and get it to heal. Regardless of the treatment, activities such as sports and exercise are restricted or limited until the fracture heals.
How to diagnose femoral stress fracture?
If you have deep thigh and groin pain that has come on gradually and is worsening, you should be screened for fractures. The fulcrum test and a one legged hop can be very helpful in determining the injury.
What is fatigue fracture?
Fatigue fractures result from overusing or overworking the bone. In many cases, the two types of fractures are related. One can lead to the other, particularly with overuse combined with poor nutrition. The highest incidence of femoral stress fracture occurs at the femoral neck where the top of the thighbone joins the hip and pelvis. ...
How to tell if a femoral fracture is a femoral stress fracture?
Symptoms of a femoral stress fracture. Symptoms include a dull ache deep in the general area of the thigh. There is likely to be pain when a bending force is applied to the femur. This is known as the hang test. The patient allows their thigh to hang over the edge of a bench or chair.
What is a femur stress fracture?
A Femur stress fracture is a hairline fracture of the femur (thigh bone). Although quite rare it is caused by prolonged overuse. Pain may come on gradually as a dull ache, which intensifies if a bending force is applied to the femur.
What is a stress fracture of the femur?
The femur bone is the long thigh bone. Prolonged overuse can cause a stress fracture. This is known as a femoral stress fracture. As with any bone, the Femur can also be fractured through one sudden force ( see fractured femur ).
Can a symtpom be referred to the knee?
If pain is reproduced then the test is positive and it may be a femur stress fracture. Symtpoms may also be referred into the knee.
Where do stress fractures occur in the femur?
Stress fractures of the femur can occur in the whole bone like the neck, shaft and the condyles. Femoral stress fractures mainly develop on the medial compression side of the femoral shaft, within the proximal and middle thirds of the bone. The highest incidence is seen at the femoral neck.
How to prevent femoral stress fractures?
Prevention. To prevent femoral stress fractures, people could modify their training schedules and wear shock-absorbing shoe inserts. Insoles lowers the incidence because the improves biomechanics, less fatigue and limit the impact on the ground.
How to treat femoral shaft stress?
Ivkovic et al. designed a new treatment algorithm for femoral shaft stress injuries. Four phases have to be fulfilled to start normal training and each phase is evaluated by a hop or fulcrum test. The first phase is called symptomatic, where the patient has to walk with crutches. The second phase is the asymptomatic one where patient are allowed to walk normally and to start swimming and exercises the upper extremity. During the third ‘basic’ phase the patient can perform exercises of lower and upper extremities. During the last ‘resuming phase’, the athlete is allowed to gradually start normal training . No recurrence of injury after treatment and follow-up for 48-96 months .The treatment algorithm is free available in the article from Ivkovic et al.: "Stress fractures of the femoral shaft in athletes: a new treatment algorithm."
What causes fractures in bones?
Stress fractures occur in bones that undergo mechanical fatigue. They are a consequence of exceeding repetitive submaximal loads, which creates an imbalance between bone resorption and bone formation. The fractures usually begin in locations of great stress; this is called “crack initiation”. If this microscopic crack is not able to heal and is subjected to further loading, the microdamage will increase and the crack will enlarge. This increase in damage can cause the bone to break on a macroscopic level.
What are the two types of neck stress fractures?
There are 2 types of femoral neck stress fractures: tension-type (or distraction) fractures and compression-type fractures. Tension-type femoral neck stress fractures involve the superior-lateral aspect of the neck and are at highest risk for complete fracture; thus, these should be detected early. Compression-type fractures are seen in younger ...
Why is a triple phase bone scan important?
It is very important to perform an adequate evaluation, patient history, and have a high index of suspicion. This will enable the practitioner to justify having a bone scan performed and thereby decrease the incidence of undiagnosed asymptomatic femoral shaft stress fractures.
How long should you be on crutches after NOF surgery?
If NOF surgery was required post-operatively, the patient should remain non- to toe-touch weight-bearing with crutches for 6 weeks, followed by partial weight-bearing with crutches for a further 6 weeks . After this, weight-bearing is permitted as tolerated.
What is stress fracture?
A stress fracture is a very small crack in the bone. This can happen from repetitive trauma and is commonly seen in athletes – particularly long-distance runners. Stress injuries can be found in the shin bone, foot, heel, hip and lower back. Treatment for stress fractures usually involves rest while the bone heals and changing your activity level ...
Where do stress fractures occur?
Stress fractures can occur anywhere there is overuse, but they’re most commonly found in the lower extremity as a result of impact and weight bearing activities. The most common bone is the shin bone or tibia (20% to 75% of all stress fractures — often running injuries). Stress fractures can also occur in the foot.
What is a gymnastic fracture?
Gymnastics (wrist stress fractures from weight bearing on hands/wrists, low back).
What happens if you don't treat a stress fracture?
If a stress fracture is not treated at an early stage (stress reaction), the pain can become severe. There is also a risk that the fracture may become displaced (the fractured bone moves out of normal alignment). Certain stress fractures (hip) are considered “high risk” stress fractures because they may have a poor outcome (such as needing surgery) if not identified early.
How long does it take for a stress fracture to heal?
As long as you can feel pain, the bone is still fragile in that area, and could break again in the same place. It takes roughly six to eight weeks for a stress fracture to heal, so it is important to stop the activities that caused the stress fracture.
How many metatarsals are there in the foot?
The foot is made up of several small bones. The bones running to the toes are called metatarsals. There are five metatarsals in each foot. It is most common for a stress fracture to happen in the second and third metatarsals.
Why do older athletes have a stress reaction?
These factors can include: Age: Older athletes may have underlying bone density issues such as osteoporosis. Already weakened bone will develop a stress reaction and/or fracture sooner than healthy bone. Weight: Both ends of the spectrum seem to be at risk for stress injuries.
How to diagnose stress fracture?
The best way to diagnose a stress fracture is to visit a doctor and undergo a physical examination. Keep in mind that due to their small size, stress fractures can often go undetected by X-ray machines, so an MRI or other medical imaging techniques may be required.
What is stress fracture?
Stress fractures are very small cracks that develop in a bone. A stress fracture is somewhat of a subtle injury, because it does not come from one particular event, but from repetitive stress over a period of time. Many basketball players, distance runners, and other athletes who are involved in high-impact sports experience stress fractures.
How long does it take for a stress fracture to heal?
Stress fractures can definitely be painful, but they will normally heal themselves with nothing more than a few weeks or months of rest.
Which bones are most likely to be affected by stress fractures?
Since the lower leg and feet are some of the main weight-bearing bones in our bodies, they are the ones that most commonly become subject to stress fractures; in fact, studies show that over 50% of all adolescent and adult stress fractures take place in the lower leg.
Does stress fracture hurt?
With stress fractures, the pain typically intensifies when you begin any high-impact activity and subsides when you’re at rest. In addition, the pain is often dull and persistent versus sharp and throbbing, and may be accompanied by swelling. The fracture may be getting worse if it takes less and less time for the pain to “kick in” ...
What happens when you stress fracture a bone?
Causes. In the situation of a stress fracture, repetitive injury to the bone eventually leads to failure of the bone or fracture. Normally, bone is constantly undergoing a cycle of turnover during which old bone is reabsorbed, and new bone is created. If the process cannot keep up, eventually the bone can fracture.
What is a stress fracture in the hip?
A hip stress fracture is an injury to the area near the ball of the ball-and-socket hip joint. You may think of broken hips only in the elderly, but stress fractures can happen at any age. Stress fractures are injuries to the bone that result from overuse activity.
What is the most common location for a stress fracture in the hip?
This location of the bone is called the femoral neck. Stress fractures can occur in other areas of the hip and pelvis, but the femoral neck is the most common and most concerning location for a hip stress fracture. 2 .
Why is hip stress fracture so dangerous?
Hip stress fractures are particularly concerning because the bones are at risk to displace (move out of alignment). If this happens, the blood supply can be cut off, leading to bone death and the development of hip osteonecrosis.
How to determine if a hip fracture is stable?
Your practitioner can determine if the stress fracture is stable based on the X-ray and MRI results.
Why is surgery needed for a fractured femoral neck?
Surgery is needed if there is a concern that the fracture may displace. This is often considered if the break is significant and located on the femoral neck which is less apt to heal on its own. 2 . The specific location of the fracture can help your doctor to determine the best course of treatment.
Can stress fractures be avoided?
Doing so can also significantly reduce pain or discomfort. If a stress fracture is suspected, pain medications should be avoided until the fracture has been treated.
Signs and Symptoms
Diagnosis of A Femoral Neck Stress Fracture
- A doctor’s physical examination will demonstrate pain in the groin and pain with range of motion. It can often be difficult to localize the pain specifically to the femoral neck. X-rays will often show the injury as a nondisplaced or hairline fracture through the neck of the femur, or at least one side of it. Often a bone scan or an MRI is needed t...
Treatment of A Femoral Neck Stress Fracture
- Treatment of a femoral neck stress fracture depends on where the injury occurs (see arrows on the image). On the lower side of the femoral neck, treatment without surgery is often successful. Due to the risk of poor healing and potential fracture, many sports medicine physicians place the patient on crutches and make the patient completely nonweightbearing. On the upper side (supe…
Prevention
- Additionally, orthopedic surgeons often try to identify the reasons the stress fracture occurred. Often a referral for an evaluation for osteoporosis with bone density screening for patients at risk. Also read: The role of bone density in stress fractures Tips to increase bone density Recommended Products and Resources Click here to go to Dr. David Geier’s Amazon Influencer …