Bilateral Tibial Stress Injuries in Recreational Athletes of Army
Aslı Ayan1
, Aydan Örsçelik2
1Nuclear Medicine Department, Gülhane Training and Research Hospital, University of Health Sciences, Ankara, Turkey
2Sports Medicine Medicine Department, Gülhane Training and Research Hospital, University of Health Sciences, Ankara, Turkey
Keywords: Stress fractures, Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome, recreational athlete
Abstract
Objective: Lower extremity stress injuries cause moderate to severe functional restrictions that frequently preclude attendance in sports, recreational and occupational activities involving vigorous, repetitive lower limb training. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relation between diagnosis and symptom duration and exercise periods in cases with bilateral stress injuries diagnosed by physical examination and radionuclide imaging.
Materials and Methods: Twenty-five patients pre-diagnosed with bilateral stress injuries, aged between 19 and 35 years (3 female, 22 male) were enrolled in this study. Patient anamnesis, demographic information, the time span of painful period, duration of exercise per week, bones scans and SPECT/CT findings were evaluated. Stress injury groups were identified as bilateral shin splints (SS), bilateral stress fractures (SF), shin splint and stress fractures (SS+SF) according to their uptake properties on three phase bone scan (TPBS) and SPECT/CT images and physical examination findings.
Results: There were no statistically significant differences between the groups according to age, and duration of symptoms (χ2 = 3,327, p=0,344).
Conclusion: Bilateral stress injury is a rare condition in military personnel and athletes. Duration of exercise seems to be the major risk factor for the stress injury development.
Cite this article as: Ayan A, Orscelik A. Bilateral tibial stress injuries in recreational athletes of army. Turk J Sports Med. 2020;55(1):14-20.
