Stress fractures in athletes

Most stress fractures are preventable. Proper conditioning and preseason training is essential. Selection of the appropriate age-related sport must be taken into consideration. Adequate warm-up and cool-down is important to prevent muscle injuries that may contribute to stress fractures later on. The athlete should be aware of not "over-doing it" because fatigue is a contributing factor to the stress injury rate. Proper dress and equipment are necessary. Using the basic methods of prevention, along with good sportsmanship, safe participation in any sport may be anticipated. Because the demands and expectations of our high-performance athletes are more prevalent, education and rehabilitation of the sports-injured patient have become ever important. With the emergence of sports medicine as a discipline, injured athletes are returned to the playing arenas much more rapidly with newer protocols and techniques. We must be ready rapidly to assess, diagnose, and treat all sports injuries; however, we must be aware and alert to the possibility that it is an injury of "wear and tear" when making any diagnosis and prescribing any treatment regime.