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Daughter's stress fracture in shinbone

Not that I’m aware of. I feel really bad, but I really didn’t know any better. I’ve never run track (or really done any sport myself other than horses), so I just assumed that the coaches were doing what they should be doing to get the girls prepared. However now, looking back on this season, I see glaring issues everywhere I look.

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Maybe once she is all healed, if she enjoyed track, you can find her an outside coach to help her properly get prepared for track season next year.

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Or, find a running club (or even triathlon club) in the area (or even online) and build up slowly for running throughout the year. At my age, there is no such thing as “condition for 4 days and then race.” OMG. So I train all year long so I never am at ground zero.

I know that kids are more physically resilient, but they are also least likely to tell a coach “I can’t do that.” I have told all my coaches that if they ever hear me say that - it really means I can’t. So don’t push me harder. But I’m an adult, and I’m the one paying, so it’s easier. We have to expect coaches of kids/teens and even college students to be the ones setting limits, not the athletes.

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This is probably worth a complaint to the superintendent or whoever is the big boss over these coaches? That’s just SUCH an egregious failure. :frowning:

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So I lived in Tennessee for a couple of years. There was a lot about the place I really liked. However, the health care stories I heard from students and colleagues were horrifying. My own health was good, and I found a Canadian doctor in my insurance network (her husband had taken a research position locally). But health care “in the wild” had some bizarre decisions. And I’d say that basic sports and fitness knowledge was not widespread. So yes, you might be able to graduate as a teacher/coach and not understand the dangers of training on ashphalt.

Tennessee is historically and probably still underfunded in every possible way. I would say really evaluate everything yourself like health care and school activities because there will be surprising gaps in what I’d consider common knowledge.

This comment is not going to help you at all.

Way back decades ago (40 years+?) when running became THE THING to do for fitness I had been studying (by reading vet books) lameness in horses. After reading all the stuff about race horses who run on relatively good surfaces I decided not to take up running because all the places I could run were either pavement (concrete or asphalt) or hard packed dirt.

I had been walking 3 to 10 miles a day on pavement. I had shin splints occasionally. Since I stopped walking miles a day (finally got my driver’s license) I stopped getting shin splints and they never returned.

Pavement is BAD for legs when running, really bad. Adding in multiple hurdles just makes it worse.

If your daughter were a horse I’d stop riding except for leisurely walks and turn them out into pasture for a year while keeping up with good hoof trimming or shoeing.

I hope she gets better. Divorcing from this track coach might be an excellent idea.

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Well, lots of us put in a lot of miles on concrete and asphalt without shin splints or stress fractures.

Much depends on proper run form, proper footwear, building slowly, cross-training for injury prevention, proper recovery, etc.

40 years ago very few people knew anything about proper run form or proper footwear, so there’s that too.

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I always wondered why I see so many runners using the road when there is a good sidewalk available. Now I know why!

Rebecca

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Oh my gosh pull her out of that program right now. The coach does not know a damn thing about what they are doing. This is not normal. (I am speaking from a similar experience in high school.) Find a local running club that works with teenagers- a running-specific shoe store will know who’s good locally- and sign her up with a certified coach once she has recovered and graduated from physical therapy. Speaking of PT, if the orthopedist doesn’t have a recommendation, look for someone who has a sports focus.

I’m glad you’re getting a second opinion on the surgery.

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Apropos of nothing- while she’s rehabbing, get her a copy of Des Linden’s memoir Choosing to Run. She had a stress fracture that caused her not to finish the race at her first Olympics. She went back to qualify for the marathon at the next Olympics, won the Boston marathon a few years ago, and is still competing. She also had a major health issue on top of that. I think she’s an incredible inspiration and her attitude towards recovery, not to mention what she accomplished after recovering from a severe bone injury, would be good “stall rest” reading. It’ll get better, kid.

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I want to thank everyone for their advice. My daughter had her 2nd opinion today and they are pretty sure surgery is NOT needed. She did say it’s a pretty bad grade 3 stress fracture. They read her previous X-rays and MRI and took new X-rays. There is no evidence so far of a non-union, so she is pretty confident that we can rest and rehab it non surgically. She was pretty shocked the other specialist jumped to surgery. She said she can’t say with 100% certainty that it will fully heal on its own, but everything is looking positive for it.

She has two more weeks of non weight bearing. They also put her in a boot. Then gently starting to use it again. We go back in 6 weeks and if she is healing then she will start getting physical therapy. At the 6 week mark we will know for sure one way or the other if surgery will be needed. Again, she doesn’t expect surgery to be the outcome. I want to thank everyone again! This is definitely a much better plan IMO!

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That’s great news.

It’s getting on to summer- if you have access to a pool, deep water running is great rehab and translates really well to maintaining running fitness. :slight_smile: I hope she has a smooth recovery!

May I offer a completely unsolicited suggestion- see if the orthopedist or PT has a recommendation for a registered dietician who works with athletes. A “pretty bad” grade 3 fracture could well be about running on concrete in a highly unstructured training program, but especially in young teenagers whose hormones are changing their lives and who are getting all sorts of social and athletic pressures about what bodies should look like, when I hear stress fracture I hear potential nutrition problem. Especially if she’s ever heard anyone say the phrase “racing weight.”

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My aunt who lives at the front of our property has a saltwater swimming pool. I need to press her to get it opened for the season so that she can use it for rehab!

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That’s GREAT news. Did this doctor also have a better pain management plan? Fingers crossed for speedy healing!

I was going to ask the same question! Great news no surgery, but hopefully get the pain under control as well. Stress will slow healing so making her more comfortable will be good al around.

And yay about access to a pool - deep water running is great exercise all the time but so perfect for rehabbing a running injury like this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m920AreWAo

I get shin splints if I run on a treadmill too much. I think the identical foot fall with the identical stress pattern is what gets me. Outside, I can run on trails, asphalt, or concrete without issue, but because the footing isn’t dead-on consistent I think that’s what makes the difference.

I’m glad your second opinion went well, and fingers crossed for good healing in the 6 weeks!!

How is she doing? Hopefully the pain is under control now.

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My ortho has been very specific that post op, NSAIDS are a no-no. The ortho who messed up my foot is in TN now; if your daughter’s doc is named Buchanan, limp away at the highest rate of speed possible.

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@S1969 thank you her pain has actually subsided in the past couple of days. I’m hoping that means that the healing is happening!

@red_mares it is not Buchanan but this person who recommended the surgery can’t be much better (if any), because the ortho we went to for the 2nd opinion had a hard time not falling off her chair when she found out he suggested surgery within 7 days of the initial injury, without even attempting a more conservative approach.

I mean, as a non-medical person I guess I trust doctors too much. I’m so glad I posted on COTH and got others opinions on the situation, because otherwise my daughter would have had surgery yesterday. What this other ortho feels would have been completely unnecessary surgery! Instead, my daughter is today begging to get rid of her crutches because she says she feels so much better.

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I’m glad she’s doing better.

Strangely, my foot is messed up because he DIDN’T do surgery. Instead, he didn’t put initially put me in a boot, even though I’d walked on a grade 3 sprain for a month. Then he let me sprain it a couple dozen times. The jerk actually told me the pain was in my head, when I was barely weight bearing on both feet. Within a month 2 other guys (1 in the same practice!) recommended rebuilding my ankle. The other foot took another 12 years to figure out

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