Data regarding stress fractures and the avoiding of such injuries
Stress fractures occur when an area is put under more stress than the bone can physically withstand. The areas which are most vulnerable are the lower legs as well as feet and often in women it is usually the bones of the pelvis.
What follows is further data regarding stress fractures as well as how to avoid stress fractures.
Athletes can succumb to stress fractures due to the weight bearing nature of the sport whereas other sports often suffer due to a trauma from their particular sport which can result in a fracture.
The athlete's stress fracture is often a result of repetitive force, for example, the shins or feet being placed under continual stress oft on harder surfaces where the impact becomes greater than the area can physically withstand.
Shinsplints are often an indication of the athlete doing too much too soon, which is often related to beginners or novices and even a seasoned athlete returning too quickly after a layoff. In a seasoned athlete, they will tend to do higher intensity training which subjects the body to even greater stresses. If a weakness is not detected in a certain area and treated, the continual stress can lead directly to tiny areas of bone to break down and a small crack to develop. This is a stress fracture.
Women can be more at risk than men due to having less muscle mass to absorb the external stress of exercise. Also due to a woman's design for child bearing; their hips, referred to by us as carriage (more on this later), comes under more stress than a man who is not designed for child birth and therefore the pelvic area is not subjected to the same stresses a woman would endure during the many hours of pounding resulting from a weight bearing exercise such as running. All sports involve some form of running, so this will certainly apply to all active women.
Then throw in the problems of a weaker bone structure due to hormonal influences and menstrual irregularities; and you realise that a female athlete needs to be in continual monitoring of their body and well-being.
Over the years a number of female athletes have been subjected to the development of a stress fracture due to the 'female athlete triad'. This subject shall be discussed under the Women's section in the future.
Further info on Stress Fractures to follow:
