9/26/2023 0 Comments Big toe stress fractureIf you have pain in the area of the stress fracture, it may be advisable to wear the CAM boot while walking, but becomes vital to take the boot off daily for maintenance exercises. Pain free stress is essential to the healing process, as it is what signals a cascade of events that results in increasing the amount of osteoblasts (bone cells) in the area (3). Not only will you lose over 20% of your muscle volume in both your calf and quad (2), but all your essential ankle stability muscles weaken, your ligaments lose tensile strength, your range of motion plummets (1)…and even after 2 months out of the boot you will still not have gained it all back (1,2)! Furthermore, if there’s anything we’ve learned about the human body over years of studying it, it’s that we NEED movement in order to heal. However, there is a whole lot of research that demonstrates the debilitating effects of immobilization. While there are definitely some situations in which a CAM boot may be beneficial, forcing everyone with a stress fracture to hobble around without an ankle joint, explaining to everyone what’s going on with their ankle is just cruel, and detrimental to their health! Little research suggests a CAM boot improves healing time for stress fractures. The idea behind this is to completely immobilize your ankle and foot bones, so as not to disturb the healing process. If you’ve had the misfortune of developing a stress fracture in one of these areas, odds are your orthopedist, physical therapist, or old kickball teammate who had the same thing has suggested that you don a controlled ankle motion (CAM) boot for 4-6 weeks. Stress fractures occur most commonly in the lower leg: tibia (49%), tarsal bones (25%), metatarsal bones (9%), or fibula (6%) (3). ![]() While the nature of this injury is a cruel one, knowing how to best combat it is crucial to getting back faster and healthier! It not only derails your athletic endeavors, it waits patiently until you have given up months of Saturdays, passed up countless happy hours, and pushed your body to the brink of competition ready to let you know it has other plans. ![]() Without a doubt the most dubious and frustrating injury and athlete can develop is a stress fracture. ![]() January 9th, 2019 Stress Fractures: To Boot or Not To Boot
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