Q

Is it possible that wearing bad shoes caused the stress fracture in my foot?

Fractures in general are caused by trauma, however when it comes to stress fractures, this can be caused by microtrauma.  This may include repetitive pressure on an area, such as the midfoot, where stress fractures are very common.  The culprit may be shoes that are inappropriate for walking long distances, such as wearing flimsy shoes to an amusement park all day, wearing uncomfortable shoes to work on your feet for 8 hours, or even wearing worn out walking or running shoes with decreased shock absorption for your daily workout several times a week. If you are having foot pain, make an appointment with our doctors at Prairie Path Foot and Ankle and we can help diagnose and treat the problem, stress fracture or not. We will also make recommendations on temporarily altering your workout routine to help heal the condition,  and on your shoe gear or need for custom orthotics or Powerstep medical grade arch supports to help prevent recurrence.

If you liked this answer, you will also like the article by Dr. McNeill about stress fractures.