How to Prevent a Stress Fracture
Strengthen your bones by building bone tissue through exercise., Wear proper running shoes., Start out slowly if you are just getting back into exercising., Do low-impact weight bearing exercises to begin with., Try some high-impact weight bearing...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Strengthen your bones by building bone tissue through exercise.
When you exercise, the physical activity you are doing causes new bone tissue to form, making your bones stronger.
In particular, weight-bearing exercises can boost your bone tissue.Weight-bearing exercises include activities that make you move against the force of gravity (ie. jumping, running, etc.) while maintaining an upright position. -
Step 2: Wear proper running shoes.
Running shoes that are meant for high-intensity workouts can help to keep your bones stress fracture-free.
These shoes are designed to absorb the force put on your bones when you do weight-bearing exercises.
Go to a shoe store and talk to an attendant about shoes made for your specific sport and needs., Another way to get a stress fracture is by suddenly demanding more of your body than you have in a long time.
Do not just jump right in to the most extreme workouts you can think of.
When your body is not used to exercise, your bones can be pretty weak.
When you do work your way up to more intense exercises, do not force yourself to do them for long periods of time where you begin to feel uncomfortable.If you work at a job where you sit at a desk all day and want to start exercising more, do not begin by trying to run a marathon.
Work your way into intense exercise by starting out walking, increasing how far you walk each day, and eventually moving into running.
Soon enough you will be running further distances. , Low-impact exercises are a good choice to start with if you are just getting back into an exercise routine or have a condition like osteoporosis.Low-impact exercises include:
Doing low-impact aerobics.
Walking quickly on a treadmill or on an outside route.
Trying out the elliptical machine. , High-impact exercises can help to build up your bone’s tissue.
However, if you have a bone condition or have broken a bone in the past, talk to your doctor before starting up a high-impact workout routine because you could injure yourself.High-impact exercises include:
Tennis.
Jumping rope.
Running or jogging.
Doing high-impact aerobics. , Muscle-strengthening exercises are exercises where you move something, be it a weight or yourself, against gravity.
When your muscles are strong, you are less likely to fall and get a fracture of any kind.
Muscle-strengthening exercises include:
Yoga and pilates.
Lifting weights and using weight machines.
Doing crunches and other muscle-building exercises. , Alternating your daily exercises will help to avoid putting repeated stress on one particular part of your body.
Try to alternate between low and high impact exercises each day.
For example, running every day can put more stress on the bones in your feet and legs than if you were to run every other day, and replace certain days with biking or indoor rock climbing. -
Step 3: Start out slowly if you are just getting back into exercising.
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Step 4: Do low-impact weight bearing exercises to begin with.
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Step 5: Try some high-impact weight bearing exercises.
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Step 6: Strengthen your muscles to prevent broken bones.
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Step 7: Cross train to make sure your whole body gets stronger.
Detailed Guide
When you exercise, the physical activity you are doing causes new bone tissue to form, making your bones stronger.
In particular, weight-bearing exercises can boost your bone tissue.Weight-bearing exercises include activities that make you move against the force of gravity (ie. jumping, running, etc.) while maintaining an upright position.
Running shoes that are meant for high-intensity workouts can help to keep your bones stress fracture-free.
These shoes are designed to absorb the force put on your bones when you do weight-bearing exercises.
Go to a shoe store and talk to an attendant about shoes made for your specific sport and needs., Another way to get a stress fracture is by suddenly demanding more of your body than you have in a long time.
Do not just jump right in to the most extreme workouts you can think of.
When your body is not used to exercise, your bones can be pretty weak.
When you do work your way up to more intense exercises, do not force yourself to do them for long periods of time where you begin to feel uncomfortable.If you work at a job where you sit at a desk all day and want to start exercising more, do not begin by trying to run a marathon.
Work your way into intense exercise by starting out walking, increasing how far you walk each day, and eventually moving into running.
Soon enough you will be running further distances. , Low-impact exercises are a good choice to start with if you are just getting back into an exercise routine or have a condition like osteoporosis.Low-impact exercises include:
Doing low-impact aerobics.
Walking quickly on a treadmill or on an outside route.
Trying out the elliptical machine. , High-impact exercises can help to build up your bone’s tissue.
However, if you have a bone condition or have broken a bone in the past, talk to your doctor before starting up a high-impact workout routine because you could injure yourself.High-impact exercises include:
Tennis.
Jumping rope.
Running or jogging.
Doing high-impact aerobics. , Muscle-strengthening exercises are exercises where you move something, be it a weight or yourself, against gravity.
When your muscles are strong, you are less likely to fall and get a fracture of any kind.
Muscle-strengthening exercises include:
Yoga and pilates.
Lifting weights and using weight machines.
Doing crunches and other muscle-building exercises. , Alternating your daily exercises will help to avoid putting repeated stress on one particular part of your body.
Try to alternate between low and high impact exercises each day.
For example, running every day can put more stress on the bones in your feet and legs than if you were to run every other day, and replace certain days with biking or indoor rock climbing.
About the Author
Timothy Davis
Professional writer focused on creating easy-to-follow practical skills tutorials.
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