The great tennis player will have to stop for a while to recover. What is your stress injury about?
Rafael Nadal announced through their networks that has a stress crack. After losing the final of Indian Wells and having stated that he could not breathe well during the game, all attention was focused on the athlete to find out what diagnosis was afflicting him.
His words on Twitter were forceful and left no room for speculation:
As it turns out, I have a stress crack in one of my ribs and will be out for 4-6 weeks. This is not good news and I did not expect this. I am sunk and sad because after the start of the season I have had such a good time.
Now with the confirmation, we can explore what this injury is about, which is more common than it seems among athletes. And although it includes the word stressyou should know that it has nothing to do with a mental health disorder.
What is the stress crack that Rafael Nadal has?
These fissures are fractures, that is, they are breaks in the line of continuity of a bone. Although the name of cracks is used in a popular way to designate a line of bone breakage that is not so deep, the truth is that they are also fractures.
But these are ruptures that do not reach the middle part of the bones, but are concentrated in the cortex, without penetrating too much. In this particular case, they are not caused by a single external trauma that hits the person in that place, but they appear by the repetition of movements that end up hurting.
Hence the name of stress fracture. This explains the mechanism, which is related to the overload. It means that the bone has repeatedly received so much pressure, persistently, that it gave way at its outermost part.
At the same time, this constant overload has prevented normal healing processes from repairing the defect. That is why they are so common in runners, tennis players, soccer players and mountaineers; all of them repeat the same gestures every time they carry out their sports activity.
Who suffers more?
Although athletes are a highly affected group because of the stress fracture, as Rafael Nadal demonstrates, also in the military field we must look for its presence. Soldiers’ preparation exercises and long marches contribute to its appearance on the foot.
Records indicate that up to a fifth of all sports injuries can be attributed to a stress fracture. Between the runners 16% prevalence is reached. And in women it is diagnosed more than in men.
Although rib presentation, like that of Rafa Nadal, is not uncommon, the feet receive the greatest overload, so two common locations are the following:
- Second metatarsal: it is the quintessential stress fracture of runners. As it is the longest bone in the foot, it is exposed to the stresses of the tread.
- Fifth metatarsal: is also called jones fracture. It is closely linked to the use of inappropriate footwear, as this leads to an overload of body weight on the outside of the foot, forcing the small bone to withstand more pressure than it can.
How is the injury recognized?
Rafael Nadal’s stress crack, for example, was recognized by the onset of symptoms in the tennis player. When manifesting shortness of breath and stabbing discomfort in the chest, complementary methods were carried out to search for the origin.
Actually, depends on the location of the fracture. Runners with metatarsal injuries will report pain when walking and even foot swelling.
Nadal’s shortness of breath, in his particular case, is explained by the irritation of the thoracic nerves that have to intervene in breathing. Since there was a fracture, with swelling and fluid accumulation around it, it is almost certain that the nerve endings in the chest were registering pain.
This chest wall pain short the breathing. The body, as a defense method, interrupts the inspiration movements abruptly and this limits the entry of air. While Nadal disputed the final of Indian Wells he couldn’t get all the oxygen he needed to keep up the pace of the game.
What awaits Rafael Nadal because of the stress crack?
The rib stress crack Rafael Nadal predicts a rest of 4 to 6 weeks. It is the stipulated time for the cells to make a correct healing.
During this time he will not be able to compete and will train at a very low intensity as the goal is for there to be adequate repair of his damaged rib. You may need to wear a bandage or chest compression device to promote and promote healing.
The use of anti-inflammatories is at the discretion of the treating physician. In general, they are indicated at the beginning, when there is pain that makes breathing difficult. There are also professionals who prescribe vitamin and calcium supplements to support bone metabolism, although this is not a universal practice.
As always, the final stretch involves rehabilitation. Physical therapy sessions help strengthen the surrounding muscles to support the fracture.
Rafael Nadal will not undergo surgery for his stress crack. At least that can be guessed, since the indications for surgery in these cases are reserved for fractures that have been displaced, for patients with poor bone conditions (osteoporosis, for example) or when healing left a non-functional callus.
Patience. Nadal will have to wait 1 month, at least.
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