Stress fractures are frequently found during competitive sports or intense exercise. They result from a failure of the bone to resist and adapt to stress that is too intense and repetitive. While normally the bone is generally able to adapt to a gradual increase of effort, in some cases this adjustment is insufficient or defective secondary to underlying genetics and/or high-intensity training. 

The sports most affected are running, gymnastics, basketball and aerobics. The regions most affected in runners are the tibia, metatarsal and navicular bones.

Acknowledgements: dott.ssa Eleonora Renzi