Stress fractures are common injuries in athletes and military recruits, that’s’ understandable- based on the physical forces placed on the long bones. A stress fracture can be defined as a partial or complete fracture of the bone that is a result from repeated application of stress lower than that required to fracture the bone in a single loading situation. In pregnancy, the body is subjected to various physiological changes that make women more vulnerable. In this pregnancy, we will highlight a REAL patient case which our team cared for on the inpatient service where a simple cough at 34 weeks leads to a painful spontaneous rib fracture! Is there any data published on this? Are serum tests for bone turn-over required as part of this workup? Listen in for clinical pearls!

1. 1962: Long A.E.: “Stress fracture of the ribs associated with ...