I am a 76-year-old female recently diagnosed with a stress fracture in my sacrum. I have been to several doctors, but there doesn't seem to be anything that they can do except pain management. Any suggestions? How long does this take to heal?
Thanks
Martha
I fractured my sacrum in July 2021. Total agony until eventually I paid for private MRI scans. Like you I discovered there was no real treatment - it was a physiotherapist who referred me for the scans and helped me get a diagnosis - it all happened at the time of the lock downs here in the U.K. and I just got nowhere at all with my doctor - I didn’t know her at all yet she suggested that at my age, 73, it was probably a touch of osteoarthritis! I knew it definitely wasn’t, I was in agony at that point. In fact I moved to another doctor’s practice because of it all.
Anyway, my physio wrote to my new doctor to tell her I needed really good pain relief and that I should see a specialist (that didn’t happen) that is very important so make sure you have good pain relief - although saying that I didn’t get on with the drugs my doctor gave me and ended up taking what we call paracetamol and ibuprofen although I wasn’t keen to use that because I’m not sure NSAIDs are good for your bones , I alternated themat two hourly intervals throughout the day. I mainly used paracetamol though - think that is called acetaminophen in the US. So when I gave up on the prescription drugs from the doctor I stuck with the OTC painkillers.
The thing that helped me most of all was buying myself a pulsed magnetic therapy mat and lying on it twice a day - that was absolutely amazing, by using that I was able to give up all but the odd paracetamol every now and again. I still use it now.
It’s hard to remember how long it took to get pain free - probably the best part of a year for me. I kept walking on flat surfaces and I used my Nordic walking poles all the time for extra stability. I’ve done Pilates for many years and I’m lucky that my Pilates teacher is a physical therapist who is experienced in people with osteoporosis so I had three one hour sessions a week with her as well as walking for about an hour a day. At first I had to stop and either sit down or lean on my poles several times during the route I took but gradually I was able to complete the circuit without pain and without stopping. I did find hills much harder to deal with but I’ve never been good on hills. and I still tend to walk on the flat and although I can do hill walks I still find them very tiring.
I also used a mixture of rub on muscle creams especially Volterol (diclofenac) it’s an anti inflammatory, deep freeze gels, heat pads, foam seat pads. I had a lot of magnesium flake baths and used magnesium sprays - not sure how much good they did but I felt better for using them.
Hope that’s if some help to you but I found that it’s a bit of a slow process and you’ve really just got to keep moving gently along. I don’t think there is a magic cure - apart from, in my case, the magnetic mat.
Thanks for your reply. It helped, not what I wanted to hear but now I know what is ahead of me.👨🦽
No, unfortunately it isn’t something anyone would want to hear but people are different and your recovery could be much faster - also depends on which part you have fractured - some fractures might heal more easily than others. Hopefully yours will be one of those.
My physio said to hold on to a counter in the kitchen if I was lifting things - I don’t like lifting heavy objects even now and he stressed to be very careful when walking on mud, wet, fallen leaves and snow and ice - that’s where the poles come in really useful although I have to confess I just stayed home when we had snow and ice.
I found reading your account of your progress interesting. I have osteoporosis and osteoarthritis, and also use the poles for walking. I do PT exercises for hip and leg pain. I have a low intensity vibration machine which I use daily, and also take magnesium bisglycinate, which helped my hip and leg pain a good deal. The pain is much less now, but it took many months to improve. So, I am not sure which thing helped the most, but it seems like they all did help, especially the magnesium bisglycinate and PT exercises. It just took time for healing to occur.
I’m so sorry about your stress fracture. In 2015, I got stress fractures in both my feet and there was nothing the docs could do.
I was bed ridden for 1 1/2 yrs, on anti inflammatory meds, and used ice packs for the pain. I cannot take opioids so I suffered quite a bit.
Unfortunately that’s how I found out I had osteoporosis. The X-ray showed very white areas in my bones, which lead the doc to order a DEXA.
I have also had other stress fractures in my ankles and heels. Ice, rest and ace bandages help a lot. Maybe a light weight girdle could help, but certainly an ace bandage (lightly wrapped)
Wishing you a speedy recovery.
Here again, be careful of others relies. I broke my wrist in 2000, age 49, diagnosed with Osteoporosis and put on meds. Now age 72 and every doctor’s note label me as non compliant! Yup, medication doesn’t take away pain, my ease of functioning so I manage all my issues ( stomach, breathing, mental health, stress) with what works for me! Epsom salt baths, sometimes twice a day, heating pad to rest upon and recharge my energy frequently throughout the day, ice when overheated and overworked, crying to get the sadness of loss out….then voila! Managing my personal compression fractures, T-6 to T-12 since 2016 , Sacrum ( tailbone) fracture giving birth in 1977, skeletal repaired, nope, just managed through experience and knowing my own needs. Please don’t take this as a “scary story”, you can do it too!!! Manage it, no magic, not easy, do the best you can!
This happened to me in 2016 when I was 68. The doctor called it an “insufficient sacral” fracture because it was not caused by a fall or any other trauma. I had been on a drug holiday for almost three years. It was so painful! I remember going to the doctor’s office and had to lay down. It was too painful to sit! I was given a very strong pain medication and was flat on my back for about two weeks. I gradually began doing some walking and stretches. I then was given Prolia and have been on it since then with no side effects. Be patient as it eventually gets better! I don’t have back aches anymore…so it makes me wonder if it was leading up to this fracture. Good luck!
My mother had bilateral sacral fractures. She was in her 89s when this happened. It took took long (weeks) to figure this out. I think for these cases you have to manage the pain. My mom went to skilled nursing home and got short term 2 weeks pain management with drugs) and physical therapy. She recovered from this. Just do what you have to do to manage the pain. It is a very painful condition. Try the mat. All the best to you.
These breaks really cause long-term pain and meds don't help that much. Thanks for your support. On my way to pain management now. Hope it helps 👨🦽
Thanks
I had a fragility fracture of my right sacrum. I could barely walk and it was very painful. I was given Mobic to take for 2 weeks to reduce inflammation and then physical therapy 3 times a week for 6 weeks. It took about 3 months before I was normal again.
This sounds just like I have. Working with pain doctor and things are better but it feels like it is taking forever to quit hurting. Thanks for telling me your program. Its hard to think of being out for 3 months, but that seems yo be the normal time
Thanks
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