Possible Stress Fracture?

by Taya
(St. Charles, MO)

Hi, I started running two years ago, and since then have been running a bit over 2 miles 5-6 times a week.
For the past few weeks, I've been tacking on a little more mileage (no more than 3/4 of a mile), but have been feeling some ankle pain on the inside of my ankle periodically.

Tonight I made the unwise decision of pushing myself to 4 miles, and while the rest of me felt great, the ankle pain persisted. When I got back home, I thought I was fine... sat down for a while to catch my breath... but when I got up again, the pain returned (it usually goes away after I stop running).
It doesn't hurt at all unless I rotate my ankle, and it hurts to walk.
As a ballet and pointe dancer of 17 years, I have very strong ankles, but I'm worried that I pushed myself to hard and may have a stress fracture. Any advice?

Thank you!


Answer by Dominique:


Hi Taya,
Thanks for your question. Ankle pain can be caused by a number of things. Most common ankle injuries are a sprained ankle, strained ankle a stress fracture, or tendinitis.

It is impossible to diagnose you from here and to know whether it is ligaments, tendon and/or bone that are giving you the pain.
You may have pushed yourself too hard, but you have got a pretty solid base with your dancing and running 5-6 times / week. You may find that it is just some initial push back from your body to the additional mileage.

For now, however, it is definitely best to take it easy and to make sure you do not further aggravate your ankle. Ice, rest and anti-inflammatory medicines can all help. Over the next few days you will find out if your ankle heals and all will return to normal, or that there is indeed a bigger issue.

I suggest that you do not run for the next two or three days and ice it. If after that your ankle is still sore, go see your doctor to find out what is the problem.


Hope this helps.
Best of luck.
Cheers,
Dominique