Femur stress fracture
What is it?
A crack (fracture) in your thigh bone (femur).
Symptoms
The main symptom is pain in the front of your thigh which starts gradually over a period of weeks. You may also have pain in your knee.
The pain is usually worse when you exercise, but you may also have it when you are resting or in bed. It may be particularly bad when you are sitting on a chair with your feet on the floor.
Causes
Stress fractures are overuse injuries. When you run, your bones are put under continual stress as each foot strikes the ground. This can cause areas of weakness to form in your thigh bone leading to stress fractures.
You're more likely to have a stress fracture if you have:
- recently increased your training routine
- poor body movement (biomechanics)
- tired muscles
- a poor diet
- reduced bone density (osteoporosis)
Treatment
A sports medicine professional, such as a sports medicine doctor or physiotherapist, can diagnose and treat a thigh bone stress fracture. He or she may use an MRI, X-ray or bone scan to see the extent of the damage.
Treatment usually involves resting the affected leg. You may need to use crutches to take the pressure of the damaged area of bone. Most stress fractures heal after six weeks of rest.
Taking painkillers such as ibuprofen or paracetamol will help to reduce pain and swelling. Always read the patient information leaflet that comes with your medicine and if you have any questions, ask your pharmacist for advice.
Putting ice or ice packs on the injured area until the swelling goes down will also help. Don't apply ice directly to your skin as it can give you an 'ice burn' - place a cloth between the ice and skin.
You may be able to adapt your usual exercise routine so that you can continue with some level of activity.
Do
- Rest from all running and high impact exercises.
- Keep up your cardiovascular fitness by swimming.
Don't
- Continue exercising as you usually do. This will weaken the bone further and may lead to a complete bone fracture.
Peer reviewed by David Toy, MCSP, Bupa Sports Medicine physiotherapist
Publication date: June 2009
