STRESS REACTION AND FRACTURES

Course overview

STRESS INJURIES REPRESENT A SPECTRUM OF INJURIES RANGING FROM PERIOSTITIS, CAUSED BY INFLAMMATION OF THE PERIOSTEUM, TO COMPLETE STRESS FRACTURES WITH FULL CORTICAL BREAKS. THEY ARE RELATIVELY COMMON OVERUSE INJURIES IN ATHLETES AND ARE CAUSED BY REPETITIVE SUB-MAXIMAL LOADING ON A BONE OVER TIME. STRESS INJURIES ARE OFTEN SEEN IN RUNNING AND JUMPING ATHLETES AND ARE ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED VOLUME OR INTENSITY OF TRAINING WORKLOAD. MOST COMMONLY, THEY OCCUR IN THE LOWER EXTREMITIES. UPPER EXTREMITY STRESS INJURIES ARE MUCH LESS COMMON, BUT WHEN THEY DO OCCUR, THEY TYPICALLY OCCUR IN THE ULNA. THIS ACTIVITY DESCRIBES THE ETIOLOGY, PATHOPHYSIOLOGY, EVALUATION, AND MANAGEMENT OF STRESS-REACTION INJURIES AND FRACTURES AND HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN CARING FOR AFFECTED PATIENTS.