Overcoming Stress Fractures | Camille Herron
Note: This post was originally written earlier in my career. It’s been updated to reflect what I’ve learned-- as an athlete, a scientist, and a coach— while staying true to the experiences that shaped me.
Introduction
Most people who know my story know that I endured seven stress fractures between high school and college— three in my left foot and four in my femurs. I didn’t have a traditional collegiate running experience. I became another “injury-riddled statistic,” the kind of story so many runners— especially women— recognize all too well.
But I didn’t disappear from the sport.
I eventually came back, built a long professional career, and found fulfillment well beyond what I once thought possible. Over the years, I’ve been asked again and again: How did you come back? What finally worked?
Being both stubborn and curious, I wanted to understand why I kept breaking down— and how bone, muscle, training stress, and recovery actually work together. That curiosity ultimately led me to complete a Master’s degree focused on bone recovery and mechanical loading.
Stress fractures are complex, and quick fixes rarely work. What follows is a combination of lived experience, education, and hard-earned perspective.
What Does a Stress Fracture Feel Like?
One of the most common questions I get is: How do you know it’s a stress fracture and not just soreness?
In my experience, every stress fracture began as a sharp, localized pain that didn’t go away, with or without shoes. If I continued training— especially workouts or racing — the pain worsened until running became impossible. The “hop test” was always telling: if I couldn’t hop pain-free on the injured leg/foot, something was wrong.
Foot stress fractures became unmanageable quickly— swelling, pinpoint tenderness, and pain within days.
Femoral stress fractures were more deceptive. Because they’re buried under muscle, I trained through them for weeks while underperforming, until pain radiated into my hip or knee and running simply stopped being an option.
I’ve also experienced stress reactions, which sit on the same spectrum but don’t always require full rest. In certain cases— under medical guidance— gentle, pain-free loading can actually support healing. Bone responds to appropriate mechanical stress.
Stress Fracture vs. Shin Splints
People often ask how to tell the difference between shin splints and a tibial stress fracture.
Shin splints: Pain is often worse at the start of a run and improves as you warm up. Running is usually still possible.
Stress fractures: Pain worsens during the run and eventually forces you to stop.
Both are often tied to biomechanics, loading errors, under-recovery, and fatigue— not simply mileage.
Anatomy, Biomechanics, and Risk Factors
I have anatomical features that increased my risk early on, including Morton’s toe, which shifts stress to smaller metatarsals. Like many runners, I was told I had “flat, weak feet” and needed rigid shoes and orthotics. The result? Temporary relief— followed by new injuries elsewhere.
Women also face unique risks:
Wider pelvis structure
Greater muscle-bone tension forces
Developmental and hormonal transitions
Lower spinal loading in thinner athletes
None of these mean injury is inevitable, but they do mean training and recovery need to be individualized.
Understanding Bone (This Part Matters)
Here’s a key concept worth repeating:
Bone remodeling takes a long time — often 8–12 months.
Even when pain is gone, bone is still adapting. During healing, a callus forms, which can temporarily alter gait or irritate nearby tissue and nerves. This doesn’t mean the bone is weak— in fact, that area is often stronger than before.
The danger comes from returning too quickly, shifting stress elsewhere before the system has fully normalized. For me, the injury cycle didn’t break until I took extended time completely off— allowing my bones to truly reset.
My personal return-to-run markers were simple:
Pain-free hopping
No tenderness to touch
A full week symptom-free before running resumed
Muscle Matters More Than Most People Think
Muscle and bone function as a unit.
Where muscle inserts, bone strengthens.
When muscles fatigue, stress shifts to bone.
Stronger, fatigue-resistant muscles protect bone.
This understanding changed everything for me— including how I trained, what shoes I wore, and how I approached recovery.
Training Errors (The Big One)
Here’s something I’ll say plainly:
Intensity breaks runners— not easy mileage.
I suffered stress fractures running 20–30 miles per week with frequent hard efforts. Later, I ran 120+ miles per week— mostly easy— without injury.
Bone responds best to frequent, low-magnitude loading, not repeated high-intensity stress without recovery. Easy running is anabolic. Constant hard running is not.
Cross-Training, Shoes, Orthotics, Recovery, and Beyond
My experience taught me that:
Weight-bearing matters more for bone than cardiovascular substitutes.
Light mechanical stress is good, such as walking. Walking during the recovery helps with blood flow and bone recovery. Then you can progress back to walk-run (such as walk-5 min run-walk), until you progress back to full running.
Cross-training must match tissue readiness, not just fitness
Orthotics can help short-term but may redistribute stress long-term
Shoes should support your mechanics, not override them
Sleep is a non-negotiable recovery tool
Nutrition and energy balance are foundational, especially for women
Chronic reliance on pain-masking strategies (~ibuprofen) delays healing
What worked for me won’t work for everyone— but understanding the principles allows you to make informed decisions.
Conclusion
Stress fractures aren’t simple, and they’re rarely caused by a single factor. They’re the result of cumulative stress without adequate recovery, layered over individual anatomy, development, training choices, and life load.
If this post helps even one runner step back, reassess, and break an injury cycle, then it’s done its job.
Disclaimer
I’m not a physician. What I’ve shared here reflects my personal experience and education. Always consult a qualified medical professional for diagnosis and treatment.