Today I returned to the doctor for my stress fracture treatment plan, and I left the office on crutches. However, I actually found out some good news. My fracture hadn’t actually progressed to an actual visible fracture yet. That glowing smudge on the hip bone is the beginning stages of a stress fracture: inflammation and micro-fractures. As you can see, it’s on the bottom of the femoral neck. This is called a compression stress fracture. If it had been on the top (tension), then there would have been a great likelihood of having surgery. So, I’m very thankful it’s on the bottom.
Because of the possible complications of a femoral neck stress fracture (hip replacement), my doctor wants me to not think about running for 12 whole weeks. I can handle that. I can regain my cardio, but I can’t get my hip back once it’s gone. So, I’m going to be completely on crutches for 2 weeks. In 4-6 weeks, I’ll be able to go full weight-bearing and do some cardio on a stationary bike. At around 12 weeks, I’ll be able to start a “return to running” plan. I’ll also have to return to the doctor about every two weeks for x-rays to ensure that everything is healing up properly.
And on a side note, Seattle received a lot of snow yesterday. A lot for Seattle at least, and it’s kind of hard to learn to use crutches on icy sidewalks. At least it was pretty! This picture was taken early in the morning yesterday, and it continued to snow throughout the day.
Andrew Thomasson 