Abstract
Stress fractures of the femoral neck in 4 patients of advanced age (6 hips) are reported. When a fracture of the femoral neck occurs in an aged person without trauma, it may be difficult to differentiate a stress fracture from a pathological fracture, because the bone of an aged person is weak.
Two of the patients had osteomalacia, and the other two, including one with prolonged use of steroid, had rheumatoid arthritis. In all 4 cases, there were no roentogenographic findings except for bone atrophy when they first complained of hip pain, but after several weeks we found fractures of the femoral neck. The four cases were diagnosed as stress fracture produced by normal or physiological stress.
