Super Bowl Sunday

It might as well be a holiday. Super Bowl Sunday brings everyone together in front of their favorite TV. As we look forward to watching the battle between the Steelers and Packers, we’ll also be looking for the multi-million dollar commercial ads that rarely disappoint. With Super Bowl Sunday coming up, there’s one player who won’t be there, Tom Brady. The Patriots QB has been in the news lately for having foot surgery after their loss to the NY Jets. So what happened to him?

Tom Brady suffered a chronic stress fracture of the navicular bone. This is a small bone on the inside of your foot that gets a considerable amount of force put through it. Brady was said to have played through this injury for a major part of the season. Stress fractures are a little different than normal breaks. Stress fractures occur from a long repetitive stress on the bone, possibly caused by muscle pulling on its bony attachments. Normal fractures are usually a specific instance of trauma. The concern with a stress fracture in the navicular bone is that your weight transfers through it as you walk. So you can see how this would affect a NFL quarterback. Every time Brady plants his foot to throw a pass, he was transferring his weight through that fractured bone, leading to a great deal of pain. So what can your podiatrist do to help Tom Brady and anyone else with a stress fracture? Well it depends on a case-by-case basis, but treatment ranges from offloading the fractured foot to surgery. Tom Brady had a screw put in his bone. This was done because the screw will compress the 2 parts of bone, therefore accelerating the healing process and getting it out of that “chronic” status. These patients could also be put in a cast to help the healing. For concerns about your feet, please come by and see Dr.Grimm and Dr.Pattison of Foot Associates of Central Texas.

Stressed Out

You can’t watch ESPN without hearing about it. You probably know someone that has gotten one. We're talking about stress fractures. They occur often in athletes and those in the military. So how is it different from a regular break? A normal (acute) fracture is the result of a traumatic experience, such as a collision or a fall. A stress fracture occurs when repetitive forces act on the bone and overload it. Let’s use the leg as an example. For runners, their leg and foot muscles are constantly working to move and absorb shock. These muscles work by shortening (contracting)from their bony attachments creating a pulling force. After a long time these muscles tire out and your bones become the shock absorbers. Those who have excessive pronation (functional flat foot)are also susceptible to these types of fractures.

How do you tell if you have one? Stress fractures usually occur very gradually. You likely won’t remember the exact day it happened but that the pain has gotten worse. While it’s hard to name only one prevention for stress fractures, there are a few ways to play defense. Make sure you are getting enough calcium and vitamin D for bone development. If you are a runner, especially one trying to get back into it after a long hiatus, try to follow the runner’s rule. It states that you shouldn’t increase distance by more than 10% per week to allow your bones and muscles to adapt. Also make sure you are wearing proper footwear. Runners should change their shoes about every 400-600 miles depending on brand and grade of shoe. I know you may say your shoes are clean and you’ve taken care of them. But the midsole is the part doing the work and if it can’t absorb shock anymore, then your bones take the hit. If you think you may have a stress fracture come by and see your podiatrist. Treatment ranges from rest from activity, to a cast or boot to keep the bone immobilized. Orthotics may also be used to correct the pronation that can cause these. Come by and see Dr. Grimm or Dr. Pattison to get a break from life’s stresses.