The Runner’s World Guide to Common Running Injuries: Stress Fracture
At first, you feel a tiny ache in your shin or your foot at the end of your run. Eventually, it starts hurting—in a specific spot—sooner. Before long, the pain can cause you to limp when walking or wake you up at night.
Sometimes when training outpaces recovery, certain bones can begin to break down faster than they can rebuild, leading to what’s known as a bony stress injury. In The Runner’s World Guide to Common Running Injuries, hosted by Winnie Yu, PT, DPT, CSCS, and guided by other medical experts, you’ll learn how catching a stress reaction early can mean the difference between modifying your training and facing weeks—or months—away from running.
What You’ll Learn
In The Runner’s World Guide to Common Running Injuries: Stress Fracture, we’ll teach you:
- How bony stress injuries develop into stress fractures
- The most common risk factors for runners when it comes to stress reactions and fractures
- Warning signs that shouldn't be ignored
- Strength exercises that support recovery without overloading the injury
Watch Video
Go Deeper
Understand the Injury
Stress fractures are part of a larger category called bony stress injuries. They develop gradually when repetitive loading causes bone to break down faster than it can rebuild itself.
“You don’t just wake up one day and have a stress fracture,” says sports medicine podiatrist Alicia Canzanese, DPM. “There’s a process of bone breakdown and bone turnover and bone rebuild that's constantly happening. And if you’re putting undue stress and strain on a specific bone, what happens is the bone breakdown happens a lot quicker than the bone turnover and the bone actually starts to get damaged.”
Some of the most common areas for a stress fracture to develop are in the foot (especially the metatarsals), the shin (tibia), hip, and femur (thigh bone).
Underlying causes of stress fractures:
- Increasing mileage too quickly during training, either as a new runner doing too much too soon or as a trained athlete going into a training block without an ideal base
- Adding intensity too aggressively, such as doing speedwork or hills
- Muscle weakness or biomechanical imbalances, causing stress to a different area of the body that overcompensates
- Worn-out or improper footwear
- Poor nutrition or vitamin D deficiency
How Serious Is It?
Early diagnosis can prevent a bony stress injury from progressing into a full stress fracture. Follow these signs to make the right call:
🟢 Green Flag
- Mild, vague discomfort that comes and goes
- Pain develops gradually
- No significant swelling
- Symptoms may improve with early intervention and training modifications
🟡 Yellow Flag
- Pain lasts throughout your run or with nearly every step
- Symptoms begin affecting normal walking
- Mild swelling develops over the injured area
- Time to stop running and seek medical evaluation
🔴 Red Flag
- Pain with every step—even during daily activities
- Localized swelling or warmth
- A very specific point on the bone is extremely tender to the touch
- Suspected stress fracture confirmed through imaging
- Running should stop until cleared by a medical professional
Recover and Return to Running
“For stress fractures, we want to think of exercises that aren’t necessarily stressing the injury area, but at the same time strengthening the muscles that surround it,” says Yu. You’ll also want to consider cross-training activities if you are taking time off from running but want to maintain some fitness.
When you start running again, consider using run/walk intervals to reintroduce impact, starting with running intervals such as 3 to 4 minutes running, 1 minute walking. And increase mileage conservatively (around 10 percent a week) while also adding more continuous running into your routine (if that’s a goal).
Modified Side Plank Hip Abduction
Banded Donkey Kick
Heel-Raised Bridge
Split Squat Heel Raise
❌ Common Recovery Mistakes:
- Ignoring persistent pain
- Delaying X-rays or an MRI because you don’t want the diagnosis
- Returning to training too soon
- Wearing old, worn-out shoes
- Trying to progress volume and intensity at the same time
Stay Healthy and Run Stronger
Along with adding back that training progressively, you’ll also want to add strength training at least two times per week to build a stable foundation. With a lower-body stress injury, you can do the rehab exercises above along with other routines that focus on hip, glute, and lower-leg strength.
Training habits to reduce recurrence of stress fractures:
- Reduce unnecessary time on your feet during rehab
- Prioritize rest between runs
- Cross-train when needed to maintain fitness without excessive bone loading
- Let your bones adapt before adding new training stress
Ready to build a stronger, more resilient running routine?
Whether you're beginning to run or you're training for that next marathon, the Runner’s World Guide to Common Running Injuries will help you spend less time sidelined and more time doing what you love. You’ll learn how to recognize the signs of common running injuries, understand their causes, and determine when you can safely modify your training versus when it’s time to seek medical care. This holistic program is available exclusively to Runner’s World+ members and is launching on October 6!
Brian has spent 15 years focused on creating compelling news, health, and fitness content—with a particular interest on enthusiast activities like running and cycling. Along with producing The Runner’s World Show podcast, Brian oversees video content series like How to Master the Marathon and The Bicycling Guide to Weight Loss. He’s coordinated coverage of major events like the Paris Olympics, Boston Marathon, New York City Marathon, and Tour de France, with an eye toward both the professional race and the engaging stories readers love.
