Short-Term Effectiveness of A Physiotherapy Program In A Top Runner After A Stress Fracture of The 5th Metatarsal

Introduction: Most of all sports injuries in runners are related to overloads of musculoskeletal structures, due to recurrent micro-injuries over a long period of time. The most common injuries are to the foot, ankle, distal tibia and knee. For a successful return to the sport, a two-phase protocol is most commonly used to rehabilitate runners with a stress fracture in the lower extremities. Methods: we performed a case study in which we used the mixed methods research paradigms, more precisely convergent parallel mixed research design. Results: During the physiotherapy program, the athlete improved the muscle strength of plantar and dorsal flexors of the ankle and muscles that perform inversion and eversion movements in the lower ankle joint, mobility in the upper and lower ankle joint (L), results of the 10 meter walking test, results of VAS. Conclusions: based on the analysis of the mixed methods results, we conclude that the mentioned physiotherapy program could be effective in top runners after a stress fracture of the 5th foot.