Subject: RE: uh-oh injured - what to do? I agree mostly with the post above mine. Coming from my experience x 2 one on each foot. I would say even though you had the x ray, the do not show stress fractures. It would probably take a bone scan. My best advice I can give you is seek a good ortho doctor if you wish to confirm it as stress fracture. What you can do is where a "boot" that limits motion and takes the stress off the metatarsals. For therapy you can do towell curls x 20, towell sweeps x 20and stack paper cups (about 5) x 10. As you progress then you can add balancing on the foot x 30 seconds, 5-10x. For treatment Ice and Ibuprofen of course. You can do deep water pool running and as you progress then you can run on the surface of the pool in the shallow end (with running shoes, if they let you, or aqua shoes). Unfortunately, you probably shouldn't even consider running for a minumum of 2 months. It took me a bit longer, but you are probably less stubborn that I was. When you do come back to running, you should start on a "soft" track, with about a mile....if you need any other advice feel free to "PM" me. I have actually just finished my running buildup from my second stress fracture and I am competing in the Red River Triathlon tomorrow, but I have run a few other triathlons before this. So, don't get discouraged just be smart about the therapy/treatment. Best of Luck! William |