A stress fracture of the metatarsal is a tiny hairline fracture of the long bones in the foot. They can occur for a variety of reasons, but most of the time they occur due to overuse of the foot, wearing improper shoes, overtraining or improper training, having certain foot deformities such as flat feet, or from osteoporosis.

Your mother may be suffering from a stress fracture due to osteoporosis, especially if she cannot remember doing anything to “injure” her foot. In fact, the occurrence of stress fractures may be the first symptom a patient has that indicates they are suffering from osteoporosis. These unexplained foot fractures occur in the setting of osteoporosis because this condition causes bones to become thin and porous, which makes them break easily. Your mother may have not have done anything out of the ordinary to cause the stress fracture, since any weight bearing activity (even walking) can cause the bone to fracture when it has been affected by osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is most commonly seen in women over the age of 50, however anyone can be affected by condition, including men.

You are probably wondering how you know if you have a stress fracture since it is a “tiny” hairline break in the bone. Most people experience the following symptoms:

• Pain at the site of the fracture. Pain is worse when bearing weight, improves when resting.
• Swelling of the area around the fracture
• Redness
• Bruising

If a stress fracture is suspected, an x-ray of the affected foot will be performed. Unfortunately, x-rays do not always show a stress fracture, especially if it is just forming. In order to confirm the diagnosis, an MRI or bone scan will need to be performed. In addition, if osteoporosis is suspected as the cause of the stress fracture, a bone densitometry test will be performed.

Immediate treatment of a stress fracture, regardless of the cause, is to immobilize and rest the foot. Rarely, surgery may have to be performed in order to stabilize or repair a stress fracture that has progressed to a complete fracture.

After a period of immobilization, it is important to transition to supportive shoes with the possible addition of a custom molded foot orthosis in order to prevent another stress fracture from occurring. If osteoporosis is confirmed, treatment for the condition will need to be intiated in order to prevent further stress fractures.

If you are suffering from foot pain that is progressively getting worse, do not hesitate to call our office to schedule an appointment for a consultation at (812) 372-6274. The earlier the stress fracture is diagnosed, the less chance there is of it becoming a complete fracture.

Dr. John R. Hladik, DPM
Columbus Foot and Ankle Clinic, PC