<p>Stress fractures feel like they&#39;re everywhere lately but I don&#39;t think its changing disproportionately. I dig into why, what&#39;s really going on, and which bits of the &quot;epidemic&quot; narrative I think hold up.</p><p><br></p><p>Refs:</p><p><strong>Bennell KL, Malcolm SA, Thomas SA, Reid SJ, Brukner PD, Ebeling PR, Wark JD.</strong> Risk factors for stress fractures in track and field athletes: a twelve-month prospective study. <em>American Journal of Sports Medicine.</em> 1996;24(6):810–818.</p><p><strong>Knapik J, Montain SJ, McGraw S, Grier T, Ely M, Jones BH.</strong> Stress fracture risk factors in basic combat training. <em>International Journal of Sports Medicine.</em> 2012;33(11):940–946.</p><p><strong>Changstrom BG, Brou L, Khodaee M, Braund C, Comstock RD.</strong> Epidemiology of stress fracture injuries among US high school athletes, 2005–2006 through 2012–2013. <em>American Journal of Sports Medicine.</em> 2015;43(1):26–33.</p><p><strong>Rizzone KH, Ackerman KE, Roos KG, Dompier TP, Kerr ZY.</strong> The epidemiology of stress fractures in collegiate student-athletes, 2004–2005 through 2013–2014 academic years. <em>Journal of Athletic Training.</em> 2017;52(10):966–975.</p><p><strong>Shi BY, Castaneda C, Sriram V, Yamasaki S, Wu SY, Kremen TJ.</strong> Changes in the incidence of stress reactions and fractures among intercollegiate athletes after the COVID-19 pandemic. <em>Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research.</em> 2023;18(1):788.</p><p><strong>Bergman AG, Fredericson M, Ho C, Matheson GO.</strong> Asymptomatic tibial stress reactions: MRI detection and clinical follow-up in distance runners. <em>American Journal of Roentgenology.</em> 2004;183(3):635–638.</p><p><strong>Kiuru MJ, Niva M, Reponen A, Pihlajamäki HK.</strong> Bone stress injuries in asymptomatic elite recruits: a clinical and magnetic resonance imaging study. <em>American Journal of Sports Medicine.</em> 2005;33(2):272–276.</p><p><strong>Hoenig T, Ackerman KE, Beck BR, Bouxsein ML, Burr DB, Hollander K, Popp KL, Rolvien T, Tenforde AS, Warden SJ.</strong> Bone stress injuries. <em>Nature Reviews Disease Primers.</em> 2022;8(1):26.</p><p><strong>AusPlay</strong> (Australian Sports Commission). National participation data on running and jogging, 2015–present. <a href="https://www.clearinghouseforsport.gov.au/research/ausplay" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://www.clearinghouseforsport.gov.au/research/ausplay</a></p>