stress fracture!

I had a very busy and fun summer of backpacking and high mountain hiking: 170 miles plus in Montana, Washington, California, and Peru, and truthfully no significant aches and pains (though some asthma from smoke and pollution). Then two weeks after I get back to work, here I am running to catch the subway to work, and I feel pain in my foot. I ignored it and limped through work the rest of the week with it getting worse (I climb ladders and do physical work). By then it was obviously worse than just one of my typical limping episodes, so I made a doctor appointment: Big bummer, a stress fracture in the fourth metatarsal. Now I have to wear an attractive green cast for 8 weeks
It seems crazy that I could hike on tough terrain all summer and then screw it up on the sidewalk. The most obvious conclusion, of course, is "don't ever go to work again, it's dangerous! And avoid sidewalks". However, setting that aside, I had a few thoughts that others might find applicable in their lives. First, I guess it's possible I weakened my bones with all that hiking, but it just didn't seem so til I got hurt. Second, I wore my backpacking boots pretty much all the time for around 6 weeks, but when I got back, I started wearing my daily shoes, which are Keens "cross trainers" Normally they feel pretty comfortable, but after the trip it felt like my feet had spread out wider in my wider backpacking boots, and the daily shoes no longer felt good. They were also a bit worn down on the rear side heel and I'm guessing I should have replaced them (I do have picky feet). Thirdly, running definitely puts a different sort of stress on a foot. I'm not normally a runner, though occasionally I jog a little, and this time I was running about as fast I could.
The short story is that this really really SUCKS!, though my doctor says it should heal fine. (and at least it didn't happen deep in the backcountry!) I am going to be really cautious about running at all, and I'll try harder to replace my shoes in a timely manner. But, man, I'm sure I'm not alone on this forum in saying its crazy how much I spend every year on shoes. Seems like shoes are not as durable as they used to be! And that pronating I do just seems to wear them down on the back corner too fast.

Yay! After 8 weeks, the cast finally came off. Felt pretty difficult to start walking again, but things have loosened up and I am ready to go on my first hike in 9 weeks. Woo-hoo!!!

Ask the doc about insoles that will help overcome the pronating. You also may need different shoes. I have to have shoes with really stiff anti-pronation devices built in.

Congratulations on being set free from the cast, but please be careful for a while!

I do heavy labor, as I'm a builder, and spend lots of time on ladders, but nothing seems to take the place of running , except running. As I've gotten older, everything has stiffened, so when I try to run, it feels like my skeleton is made of rusty, brittle steel. Glad you've healed and are ready for the trail again.

I can sympathize with you Bluefish, as I am an electrician, but the main occupational thing that is killing me is my shoulders. It's looking like I'll have to have arthroscopic surgery Luckily my shoulders don't affect my hiking

Hmmm...That's an interesting suggestion Mouse. Do they make orthotics to change how your foot lands that much? I got good quality custom made orthotics from a podiatrist a few years back, after my bunion surgery, and they seem to have helped me a lot, not just with foot pain but also with stability and back pain. But my boots still show heavy wear pattern on the rear outer corner, so I guess I still pronate. I throw away my shoes a lot sooner than anyone else I know because once that part starts wearing down, I feel like my stride starts tracking in a way that puts strain on my knee and foot and other parts. I try to be very cautious. In this case, though, I definitely was using that pair a little longer than I think I should have. Of course I was running in my overalls and carrying a heavy daypack, too. Maybe I just need to say the heck with running.

My biggest occupational hurdle is that I work too many hours sitting on my ass and not exercising enough...

and paper cuts are no laughing matter!