UAN:216 Article type:--SymptomsThis is a stress fracture of the second (or sometimes third) metatarsal. You’ll feel pain in the middle of the long bone(s) of your foot, which will slowly increase with distance, reaching a crescendo as you end your

UAN:230 Article type:--Because stress fractures of the calcaneus (heel bone) and tibia and fibula (lower-leg bones) share similar symptoms, investigations and treatments, we’re grouping them together here.Symptoms As with all stress fractures, you

to prevent another fracture should you have a similar accident again.Runners are plagued by the stress fracture – to picture one, think of a crack in a china cup. The fracture occurs as a result of overuse and repeated stress to a bone, and the broken

may involve other bones and ligaments, too.Medical investigationsIf you only have local tenderness over the ligaments, a case can be made for not x-raying the ankle. Any suspicion of a fracture as indicated by bone pain makes an x-ray mandatory

fracture or stress fracture of the calcaneum (heel bone), bone disease and local infection, or simply bruising of the heel’s fat pad.Self-treatmentRest aside, ice packs, good heel cushioning and a heel cup to firm up and thicken the under-heel fat pad, may

overgrowth can occur in chronic cases.Medical investigationsProbably unnecessary, except to exclude differential diagnoses.Differential diagnosesBoth stress and complete fractures equal a calcaneal bursa in intensity and pain, so must be eliminated by x

to heal.What else could it be?There is a long list of possible alternatives, including: stress fractures, muscle pulls and tears, tibial periostitis, nerve and artery entrapment and blockage, referred pain from a lumbar disc, infections, tumours

, causing swelling of the nerve along with the pain.What else could it be?Pain over the metatarsal heads (metatarsalgia), a stress fracture of the bone, or tendinitis may mimic the pain, while conditions varying from diabetes to multiple sclerosis could

show swelling and calcification of the tendon, while a scan will give more detail if required. What else could it be?You need to be sure that the injury is not to the patella itself, such as a stress fracture or a congenital defect

it be?There is a long list of possible alternatives, including: stress fractures, muscle pulls and tears, tibial periostitis, nerve and artery entrapment and blockage, referred pain from a lumbar disc, infections, tumours, and pronation syndromes