Expert: MARK A. HOWELL - 4/11/2009

Question
Hello. My sister was sent home on convalescent leave from USAF BMT due to stress fractures and stress change in both of her knees. she has never had any pain in her knees. is she going to be discharged? she says there are alot of trainees who are in the medical hold facility for stress fractures and many of them have been there for months. is she going to be stuck there for a long time? i just don't want her attitude to change. she is always a happy go lucky kind of girl and i can already see her changing into a depressed person.   any advise?

Answer
Holly,
Stress fractures occur most commonly in a weight-bearing bone such as knees or the lower legs.  They're just very tiny cracks in the bone, which can lead to a major break if they're not allowed to heal.  Healing is slow because she is continually putting weight on her knees.  Rest is the only option for complete healing of a stress fracture, usually 4-8 weeks if the fracture is minor or 3-4 months if the stress fracture is more severe.  She'll need to be in tip-top shape physically to successfully graduate from basic training.  Afterward, the Air Force is more of a relaxed pace.  The doctors know that a stress fracture is minor and will eventually heal.  Usually they'll put her on crutches, or put her leg in a cast, or both.

If she's not accustomed to all the daily running and marching (and most of us aren't) she'll develop stress fractures in an otherwise healthy bone.  Being on medical hold is not a penalty, it happens to a lot of people.

No, she won't be discharged as long as she allows her knees to heal.  Some people try running again to so and fail their physical training test.  After 2 failures they will indeed discharge her, so tell her to be sure to stay off her feet as much as possible.

I know it can be somewhat depressing just sitting around all day and not getting to graduate with her class, but at least she WILL graduate, just a little later than planned.
 
Tell her to play it smart and don't try to push it until the doctor tells her it's OK.
I'm glad to see she joined the military.
Tell her I'm pulling for her!
Colonel H