Key Points
"For example, you sign up for a spring marathon on New Year's Eve and go from doing nothing to training 20, 40 or 60 kilometres per week these are high-risk moments..
"In my own career as a middle-distance runner, I only got away with one low-grade stress fracture," reveals the sports physician, who has been researching this type of injury since his studies...
Stress fractures can occur in any type of sport, and bones that are subject to high stress are at particularly high risk..
For example, fatigue fractures occur more frequently in the ribs of rowers or golfers, in tennis in the elbow or forearm bone near the wrist, and in jumping sports such as basketball, the foot bones as well as the foot and knee joints are often affected..
To prevent stress fractures, athletes should make sure their body is sufficiently supplied with calcium and vitamin D. Calcium stabilizes the bones, while vitamin D ensures that calcium is better absorbed by the body and incorporated into the bones..
