Unlimited Podcast 001 | Stress Fractures
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- This video podcast is available only to Unlimited Members (learn more).
- This private podcast for Unlimited Members will explore deeper investigations into gear, skills, and technology. Our public podcast will continue to focus on a long-form variety show featuring stories about people and places through interviews, with short segments about gear, skills, and what’s happening at Backpacking Light.
Summary
Stress fractures in the lower leg and foot are common injuries among long-distance hikers, hikers who are training for big events, vacation hikers, runners, and older hikers. This video podcast episode discusses the definition, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of stress fractures.
Duration: 31 min 45 sec
Show Notes/Outline
- This is part of an ongoing series on foot health. Previously, we discussed maceration and immersion foot disease in another episode.
- What types of hikers are most at risk for developing stress fractures?
- What is a stress fracture?
- Why do stress fractures occur?
- What is bone remodeling?
- Does any type of nutritional deficiency impact the risk of developing stress fractures?
- How does osteoporosis influence stress fracture risk?
- What about recurring stress fractures?
- How does footwear choice and pack weight impact stress fracture risk?
- Discussion of the impact of pack weight and fatigue on metatarsal stress (the Swedish Study).
- How can stress fractures be prevented?
- What are the signs of a stress fracture?
- How do I manage a stress fracture if I’m still on trail?
- What’s the course of treatment for a stress fracture once I get off trail?
- I have a stress fracture – is my long-distance hike over?
Feedback, Questions, Tips?
Credits
- Backpacking Light – Executive Producer
- Ryan Jordan – Director and Host
- Andrew Marshall – Producer, Host, and Editor
Contact
You can contact us at podcast@backpackinglight.com, or follow us on social media –
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- Andrew Marshall – Instagram | Twitter | WWW
- Ryan Jordan – Instagram | Twitter | WWW
Discussion
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Companion forum thread to: Unlimited Podcast 001 | Stress Fractures
Stress fractures in the lower leg and foot are common injuries among long-distance hikers, hikers who are training for big events, vacation hikers, runners, and older hikers. This video podcast episode discusses the definition, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of stress fractures.
What would be an approximate training time frame to avoid stress fractures. I would guestimate about 6 weeks of a daily, increasing duration routine, but, I am guessing.
I would say that it depends. I’ve incurred stress fractures in both untrained and in highly trained states. Both occurred when I was being too aggressive with my training. I think the general principle at avoiding them is to give yourself plenty of recovery time following intense training periods/workouts.
Most stress fractures for endurance athletes are the result of overuse, specifically a too fast increase in the amount or intensity of the activity. Ryan is absolutely right that adequate recovery is is vital in avoiding this type of injury. In addition, if you look at elite runners as an example, seldom do you see more than 15% to 20% of their workload at a high intensity. Secondly the amount of their running seldom increases more than 5% to 10% on a weekly basis. For less accomplished runners 5% is a better bet and reducing mileage every fourth week to improve recovery isn’t a bad idea. For those of us who are older a 10 day schedule rather that a week may be beneficial, though I must confess to still using a weekly schedule as my training guide! I have found that using what I learned as a runner and a coach has helped tremendously in avoiding overuse injuries as a hiker. Of course getting hurt from falling down is another matter, though I’m getting better at falling too!
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