Femoral Neck Stress Fracture

[kiwibug]

So after about four weeks since initially feeling pain in my hip (I tried to turn into a runner/triathlete overnight and it didn't work out very well), a bone scan finally confirmed that I have a stress fracture in the compression side of my femoral neck.

Does anyone have any experience with this? My doctor is going to have me meet with an orthopedic surgeon to discuss getting pins put in to make sure the neck doesn't break completely, and for now I'm supposed to be on crutches so that I don't feel any pain. She said if it feels a lot better by the time I meet with the surgeon I might be able to avoid the surgery..

I'm still going bonkers with no exercise but at least I know what it is.

[bmccasland]

Seems like being on crutches and avoiding surgery is a good thing. Have they done a bone density scan? Your femur should be a big strong bone, how the heck did you get a stress fracture in that bone? Will PT help?

[OakLeaf]

Ouch. Heal up quick.

[ruffianxc]

usually femoral neck hip fractures don't heal without pinning unless they are on a precise location that isnt' being pulled on and stressed by muscles. thats not saying you don't have that. I'm sure your doctor knows where your fracture is at but unless they are familiar with ortho cases they may not know. At least thats how I remember it from a couple years ago.

[kiwibug]

... Really??

Ugh. I have to make a decision - I'm at school now and the soonest an orthopedic surgeon can see me is November 17th, (he's away for a week and a half), but if I try to get in to see someone at home I could see someone sooner, but that's pretty inconvenient and I don't even know if I would be able to see someone sooner.

I was reading up, and I know that I have a compression type fracture (bottom part of the neck) and it's not displaced (it's not broken the whole way through), and usually they just treat it non-operatively - with limiting the weight-bearing and activity.. So I just figured I probably wouldn't need the surgery anyways?

I don't know. It's already been four weeks (and I didn't know what it was/that I shouldn't be walking on it so I have been) and it feels a lot better.. still sore at times but I'm not limping anymore (I've stopped taking pain meds because I want to be able to feel if it's hurting).

I'm not sure about why it's happened at that bone. I think that I haven't always made sure to eat properly (that is - enough calcium), and I have had some phases over the past few years where I've been really restrictive with my diet.. I've read a bit and it seems that female athletes that fall into the athlete triad category (osteoporosis, amenorrhea, disordered eating) are susceptible to stress fractures in the femoral neck.. I don't think I've ever had a real "eating disorder" and I'm not underweight, and I've had regular menstruation with the exception of a few months this past spring when I stopped taking the pill.. I don't know. I guess it could be a combination of a few things. I've started taking calcium though, I'm only 21 so I think I have some time to fix my bone density a bit.

I haven't had a bone density scan though.. I think it would probably give me more answers.

[KnottedYet]

As long as you're getting a density scan and such, you might also want a blood antibody test run to see if you have celiac disease. It can show up as bizarre symptoms, and often ties in with unusual bone issues.