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Insufficiency Fractures

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Abstract

Insufficiency fractures are a type of fracture that occurs when normal or physiologic stress is applied to abnormal bone. This is in contradiction to fatigue stress fractures which involve repetitive stress on normal bone and pathological fractures which are associated with tumors, metastases, and infection. Each type of fracture requires intricate knowledge of the processes involved in order to diagnose and treat them appropriately. Insufficiency fractures can occur throughout the skeleton but are common in the tibia, femoral head and neck, sacrum, pelvis, and feet. They are most commonly associated with osteopenic or osteoporotic bone and the female athlete triad in young athletes. They also occur with other conditions such as Paget’s disease of bone, osteomalacia, and prolonged radiation therapy. In this chapter, insufficiency fractures are explored with an emphasis on underlying causes in younger patients. Clinical diagnosis, location, imaging, and treatment of these fractures are also examined.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, 3200 South Water Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15203, USA

    Michael J. Tranovich DO & Vonda J. Wright MD, MS

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  1. Michael J. Tranovich DO
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  2. Vonda J. Wright MD, MS
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Correspondence to Vonda J. Wright MD, MS .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Assistant Professor, Department of Orthopedics, Team Physician, Department of Athletics, Physician Lead, Endurance Medicine, Sports Medicine Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA

    Timothy L. Miller

  2. Judson Wilson Professor, Department of Orthopedics, Head Team Physician, Department of Athletics, Executive Director, Sports Medicine Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA

    Christopher C. Kaeding

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Tranovich, M.J., Wright, V.J. (2015). Insufficiency Fractures. In: Miller, T., Kaeding, C. (eds) Stress Fractures in Athletes. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-09238-6_16

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