STRESS-FRACTURES - A REVIEW OF 180 CASES

Objective: To review the cases of stress fracture seen over a 2-year p eriod at a sports medicine clinic. Design: One hundred and eighty case s diagnosed as stress fractures on the basis of clinical picture and r adiological evidence were reviewed. The following features of each str ess fracture were noted: age, sex, site, sport/activity. Setting: A sp orts medicine centre in Melbourne, Australia. Patients: The average ag e was 21.8 years. Seventy eight of these stress fractures were seen in women, 102 in men. Results: The most common sites of stress fractures were the metatarsal bones (n = 42), tibia (n = 36), fibula (n = 30), tarsal navicular(n = 26) and pars interarticularis (n = 17). The most common sport was track (n = 54). Other common sports activities were j ogging/distance running(n = 35), dance (n = 12) and Australian footbal l(n = 14). The distribution of sites of stress fractures varied from s port to sport. Among the track athletes (n = 54), navicular(n = 19), t ibia(n = 14) and metatarsal (n = 9) were the most common stress fractu re sites. The distance runners (n = 35) predominantly sustained tibia (n = 15), and fibula (n = 8) stress fractures, while metatarsal stress fractures (n = 18) were the most common among dancers. The distributi on of sports varied with the site of the stress fracture. In the metat arsal stress fractures (n = 42), dance was the most common activity. D istance running (n = 15) and track (n = 14) were the most common sport s in the group to have sustained tibia stress fractures (n = 36). Trac k athletes (n = 14) were particularly prevalent in the navicular stres s fracture group (n = 26). Conclusion: The distribution of sites of st ress fractures in this study shows some differences from previously pu blished studies.