If you fall off a ladder or get tackled awkwardly in a football game, it’s pretty easy to determine why your foot hurts. But what if foot pain develops after a much more innocuous action, like going for a run or mowing the lawn? If you’re dealing with foot pain despite not really exposing your foot to elevated levels of stress, you may be dealing with a low stress foot fracture tied to a bone density issue. In today’s blog, we take a closer look at these low stress fractures and what you can do to protect your feet if you have poor bone density or a condition like osteoporosis.
Low Stress Foot Fractures
Low stress or seemingly unexplained foot fractures are not that uncommon, especially among older adults who have put 50+ years of stress and strain on their body. As we age, our cells may struggle to produce enough new healthy bone to make up for the bone cells that die off, and if you’re losing more than you’re gaining, your bone density will decrease. Eventually, this can lead to the onset of osteoporosis, which is a bone thinning disease that affects nearly 30 million Americans a year and accounts for 1.5 million bone fractures each year.
Osteoporosis oftentimes presents and progresses without any obvious symptoms. You can’t really feel that your bones are thinning, and this loss in bone density isn’t painful in and of itself, which is why a low stress fracture is one of the most common ways that the condition is discovered. Relatively minor actions or activities that have not been an issue in the past now cause a bone to break in the foot as a result of this loss in bone density.
If you’re dealing with lingering pain and suspect that a low stress foot fracture may be at play, set up an appointment with your primary care physician or a foot specialist. They’ll take a closer look at your foot, ask questions about your symptoms and will likely order imaging tests to get a closer look at the bones in the area as well as their density. Other tests can assess the levels of calcium and mineral levels in the bones to get a better idea of the bone density of specific areas of the body. Assuming the fracture is tied to some bone density loss, your doctor will walk you through some treatment strategies for the current fracture and to protect your feet going forward.
Treating And Preventing Low Stress Foot Fractures Tied To Bone Density Loss
There are two main goals when it comes to recovering from a low stress foot fracture tied to bone loss. First, your team will focus on limiting stress on the area so that the fracture can heal correctly. This may involve recommendations like casting, walking boots, activity limitations, rest and a gradual reintroduction to physical activities as you progress through your recovery. The second goal will be to boost your bone density or better protect your feet from a similar injury. Some recommendations for this include:
- Weight loss
- Dietary improvements to boost nutrient intake
- Dietary supplements
- Orthotic inserts to shift stress off different areas of the foot
- Activity modifications
- Physical therapy to strength nearby structures
Improving your diet to help your body get the nutrients it needs to aid in bone production will be key, but you’ll also want to avoid high-impact activities that place you at a heightened risk for another fracture. Your doctor can talk to you about the specific activities that you may want to avoid based on your unique circumstances.
For more information about treating and preventing low stress foot fractures tied to osteoporosis or bone density loss, connect with Dr. Silverman and his team today!