Calcaneal stress fractures in amateur football players

Abstract

Stress fractures resulting from physical exercise have been recognized since 1855, when Breithaupt reported foot pain and swelling in a group of Prussian soldiers feet (1,8). They typically occur in normal bones which are subjected to repeated cyclic force but the strength of the force applied on the bone should not be strong enough to result in an acute fracture. For this reason stress fractures are generally seen in military recruits, ballets, dancing students, athletic trainers who participate in repetitive travmatic sporting activites (1,5).

In our country, football games among amateur players has become popular especially on small football areas covered by carpets, but the floor is concrete. In this paper a case of calcaneus stress fracture following a football game which was performed on small football area, is presented. Although repetitive physical exercise is the cause in most of the reported stress fractures cases our report demonstrate it is not essential and it seems that the hard concrete floor of the football area is the cause.

Résumé

Les fractures de fatigue ou de stress, qui surviennent sur un os sain soumis a’ des contraintes prolongées et répétitives, sont bien connues chez les jeunes recrues, les athlétes et les danseurs professionnels. Nous rapportons l’observation d’une fracture dela grosse tubérosité postérieure du calcaneus qui avait les signes cliniques et radiographiques d’une fracture de stress. Elle était apparue chez un sujet jeune et sédentaire, sans tares reconnues, qui pratiquait une partie de football sur un terrain miniature dont le sol était en béton recouvert d’un tapis. En l’absence de la notion classique d’activité physique longue et répétitive, nous pensons que la survenue de cette fracture était liée a’ la dureté du sol et aux dimensions réduites de ce type de terrain de football.