Question: how do stress injuries and stress fractures happen?

  1. Hi karissakendall,

    That’s an interesting question! Stress injuries / fractures normally happen when a particular part of your body is under strain for an extended time.

    I find it easier to imagine a strip of metal – a bobby pin for example, or a paper clip. If you bend it backward and forwards lots and lots, eventually, after lots of bending the ‘stress’ is too much and it will break.

    Bones and tendons are a little like that too – tendons attach muscles to bone. If the tendon pulls hard on the bone for a long time, or if the bone has to twist slightly over and over again, eventually part of the bone will break. Its not normally a full break – maybe just the outside layer of the bone. But of course – this causes a lot of pain and can take a long time to heal if its not cared for properly.

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