Possibly gave myself a stress fracture…

Edit: I don’t know for sure it’s a stress fracture, which is why I said “possibly”. I have pain in my 5th metatarsal on my left foot when putting weight on it/walking. The pain comes and goes, sometimes it doesn’t hurt when I walk but most times it does. I’m currently treating it with rest and some KT tape. I’m just new to this and wondered if any here had any further advice. I will see a dr at the end of the week if I’m still feeling painful.

Hi everyone, I’m (24F) still relatively new to hiking but I think I screwed up lmao.

Long story short, I went from pretty much completely sedentary to walking in my neighborhood for 1-2 miles about two weeks ago. I didn’t go everyday, maybe 3/7. Then last week I tried for 2-3 almost everyday, but missed some days.

This past Sunday I went on a 3hr, 8 mile hike in the woods. It was pretty flat, gradual inclines but I admit I was on a time crunch so I didn’t take many breaks. Later that day, I ended up walking 2.5 more miles (1 of those was accidental, I was outside with a friend and we just ended up walking around).

So anyway, I’ve learned my lesson. I will stretch, take breaks, realize that even though I’m feeling good in the moment, I shouldn’t push my limits too hard.

I know I need rest and ice (?), but is there anything I can do additionally? I’m not tying to speed up the healing process, I’m just trying to make myself more comfortable while I heal. Should I tape? Just keep resting and taking pain meds when needed? It’s fine when I’m resting and sometimes fine when I walk but sometimes really painful.

Aside from breaks, stretching, knowing my limits and vitamin supplements (like calcium and vitamin d) is there anything else I can do to try and prevent this? I’m bummed I can’t go out for a while now.

If it makes a difference, I have a pretty good sized arch on my feet. My navicular always hurts when I walk, even before this. I read for that pain insoles that support a high arch can help. Will that help with stress fractures as well?

Edit: Again, I’m not trying to heal faster, I’m trying to simply heal better