Clinically subtle fracture from overload
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This person “sometimes limps after running”… with a nearly complete fracture through the neck of his femur:
Walked into clinic after season ended with thigh and hip pain, “sometimes limps after running.” No previous stress injuries. No risk factors. Normal X-rays.
The stress injuries this last year are wild.
A couple take-home points…
Allow adequate recovery, y’all! Tissue needs breaks, or it breaks!
The consequences of tissue overload are not always super obvious! Painful stuff gets missed. Imaging is often premature and harmfully shows scary red herrings (especially in the spine), and that’s a fine point to make. But it can also show us what’s wrong.