I Had A Sudden Injury But My Doctor Called It A Stress Fracture

I had an interesting question from an athlete who asked,
“I had an injury, I went to see the doctor and got an X-ray. There was no crack on the X-ray, but my doctor called it a stress fracture. So, I’m confused.”
“I thought that a stress fracture happens when you run too much, too far, too soon, it overloads the bone, and you get a little crack in it. I didn’t do that. It was trauma, a sudden injury, not a bunch of force applied over a long period of time. I wasn’t training for anything. I don’t get it. Why is my doctor calling this a stress fracture?”
I had a sudden injury, but my doctor called it a stress fracture.
That’s what we’re talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.