5th metatarsal fracture help

Just out of interest, how did you roll your foot? I haven't had a similsr accident but think thst I wouldn't expect a fracture. My first fracture was at 52 (wrist last July).

I was a bit overzealous in my workout class. I was barefoot and went to run to the side quickly and caught my pinky toe on the flooring then rolled my foot. There was a loud pop which was apparently not a good thing. Lol. Good for you on making it to 52 before your first fracture!!

I was running in sandals down my driveway and when I stopped I rolled my ankle and the shoes that I was wearing had snapped the bone. I thought that I had broken my ankle as I heard it crack. I had a Jones fracture and was miserable! Lol i've broken a few bones and many dislocations because of sports. But this bone put me on my butt LOL

Isn't it crazy how breaking that one little bone can completely put you out of commission?!? Lol. I have an avulsion fracture of the proximal fifth metatarsal so I was lucky it wasn't a Jones. I'm a very impatient patient though. Can't wait to get out of this boot and healed enough to start PT!

Hi

Sorry to hear about your fracture.

I had 5th meta fracture few months ago and emergency doctor told me I may have to go for surgery.

Luckily I got to see foot specialist after a week.During that time I was in full cast till my thigh.But specialist told me nothing to worry about and took off my cast and put me on Air cast.I was putting full weight and was walking.It took 5 weeks and I was goid to take off air cast too.

I took homeopathy medicine during my fractire which I believe fastened the process of healing.

Also a good foot specialist will make difference.

I hope you will recover fast as Its very frustrating to sit and do nothing all day..

Hi!

Thanks for sharing your experience and sorry you had to go through this too! It's encouraging to hear you got out of your boot at 5 weeks! I will be at 4 weeks Friday so I'm hoping when I go for my FU X-rays they show good progress on healing. What type of homeopathy did you use?

Hi Eah4me thanks for the reply my foots sore in the same spot as yours. How's your foot doing now? Is it still tender? I'm hoping mine benifit from the insoles and vionic shoes will keep you posted.

Hi, Kasiaxpma I broke my foot on March 9 was in a backslab from hospital for 4.5 wks non-weight bearing, then in boot for 2 wks non-weight bearing ,partial weight bearing for 2 wks still in boot, total weight bearing for 2 wks. Now I'm in a regular shoe but base of toes are really sore so limpng but it seems to be getting better week by week sorry to hear you broke your foot the main thing is to stay off of it until told to weight bear I know it will seem like a long process but it will only cause more damage to the footif you weight bear too soon, and you will have longer healing time. Its person to person how long it takes to heal me three months but still very tender and limping but you may heal a lot faster,slower, or the same amount of time its different for everyone. It takes time and patience. Just take it easy.

Hi Johnette932, thanks for your reply .

Thz cast is kind of driving insane, the weather is getting warmer here in France, and it's making me itchy.

I even had a nightmare about my broken metatarsus, my cast had melted and I was able to remove it when I look at my metatarsus it was bent at 90° , I was yelling and was in lot of pain. I was happy and relieved when I woke up and saw my cast ha.

During the day I study for my exams and keep my feet high as much as I can.

I sleep with pillows under my leg. Sleeping on my back is hard but i force myself to do it.

I had been on non weight bearing for four weeks when I sprained my ankle so I learned patience ha. I rarely put my feet on the floor.

I really hope when I go see the orthopedic surgeon,i will have good news but July is far away ! I see that a lot of people go see their doctor every few weeks. Maybe I will go see my generalist before July .

Hi Everyone ! Just to let you guys know my experience recently about same kind of fracture which happened while I was showing homes to clients .I was talking on the phone when we entered the home.My clients went ahead and I was talking and walking and didnt see there's step between living and dining room and fell down. Heard cracking noice and was in lot of pain.I drove to house and there was lot of swelling and pain.My friend took me to clinic and after xray found that its broken.Went to emergency. The dr didnt give any satisfactory answer and they put cast till my knee and told me to come back after week as foot specialist was available on tuesdays only and my accident date was tuesday evening. So I had to wait for 7 days and was searching on internet and found many scary articles.

When I went to foot specialist after a week he said its classic fracture and will heel in 4-6 weeks.He cutted the cast and gave me aircast and told me to start walking without crutches and start doing my work.

I was little scared as I read in many places that we shouldn't put weight on broken feet but he assured me nothing is gonna happen and with his assurance I startes walking.

After my 4 weeks he took another xray and told me my foot is healed and I can start wearing normal shoes.

I was amazed as I didnt expect to recover in 4 weeks.

I took homeopathic medicine too so I recommend any one with fracture should consult homeopathis physician in their area and start taking homeo med and in my case it fastened the process of healing.

SO guys don't worry it will heal within 4-6 weeks .The only boring thing is to sit at home for whole day.

I bought an ip tv box and start watching movies and TV shows just to give you guys an idea for time pass.

I hope you guys will recover fast.

WOW, what a great recovery.  I'm jealous!  Not really.  It's nice hearing good news.

What kind of cast do you have? There is a wonderful device called the "cool cast" that works with fiberglass casts. It wraps around it and then you use your vaccume to suck moisture and heat out of the cast. I loved it when i was in my cast, it was honestly heaven. They dont work with plaster casts though so keep that in mind. There is a picture below of what it looks like. I got mine on amazon.

Unfortunately for me I have a plaster cast

That sounds like a good product if you have the "right" cast.  I don't know if this would help or not with the hot weather to make you cooler while in a plaster cast.  When I was casted (fiberglass) I had to put a plastic trach bag over the cast to shower.  Once I got some tiny holes in the plastic because the fiberglass is very rough and the bottom got wet and was squishy inside the cast.  I didn't want to go back to the doctor to replace the cast.  First I tried my pistol blow dryer and it didn't work on drying out the padding inside the cast.  Next I wrapped the cast/foot up with a heating pad on high.  That eventually worked.  So why not try the opposite?  Put your casted foot into a plastic bag and then put it into a container filled with ice or ice water.  I'm thinking of a tall kitchen trash can or a bucket.  Of course you would really have to be hot and totally uncomfortable to give it a try :-)  Good luck.

Thanks for the idea. I wasn't that Desperate yet. Ha. But if it keeps getting warmer I might give it a try.

I instead put a ice block on my toes and the ice pack I had when I sprained my ankle on the cast. Didn't help a whole lot but enough to get a bit more comfortable .

In the last few days, my foot has been painful pretty much all the time when it was not elevated . And my little toe feels sore. I am kinda scared to move it . I haven't felt that in the first week. So I am wondering if it is normal.

I guess I am already losing muscle strength because I feel the cast is getting heavier day after day ha

Hmm.  Where on the 5th metatarsal was your break?  Mine was a Jones fracture closer to my ankle rather than to my toes.  I did not have much foot pain but I was able to spend much time in a recliner with my foot on a wedge pillow on the foot rest.  So it was up pretty high.  I found that I would get swelling if I didn't keep my foot elevated.  I got really fat toes so I painted the nails different colors.   I also sleep with a pillow under my lower leg and foot, but I sleep on my side (no nightmares).  I did not have any pain in my little toe.  My pain was across the top of my foot from the arch side to the opposite side where the 5th was broken and around the break (kind of a throbbing at night).  My big toe joint was quite painful from non use and arthritis and every day I would exercise it.  I often could not bend it at all without pain so I wiggled all my toes as much as possible.  It would take some time and effort with the big toe at first but eventually it got easier.  I wasn't scared to move my toes because they were far from my fracture.  You will lose muscle just wait until your cast comes off and see how different your calf looks.  I've been in regular shoes now for about 5 weeks and my foot and ankle are still not their normal size or color if you look at my feet together.  Just slightly swollen and what looks to me like a nice tan rather than pale white.  Best to you in your recovery.

My recovery is very similar to yours. Broke my fifth metatarsal, placed in a boot, used crutches for two weeks then gradually started walking in boot. Bat four weeks xray showed good healing so transitioned to normal shoes. I'm 7 weeks out now and walking with a slight limp. Still can't do all my activities (dance, running etc) but hoping to get released to do that in another week. Overall, can't complain after reading how much worse other people had it!!

Good to hear that you are doing so well.  Based on the experience of others I also can't complain.  It's been 13-14 weeks for me since my fracture and I'm usually back to normal walking.  A little limp when tired and I don't concentrate on my walk.  No step aerobics yet but doing 2 days of exercise for seniors a week.  Not a bad recovery for someone turning 70. :-)

I have a Jones fracture. I probably should move my toes more often. My foot must be swelling when it's not elevated because after a few minutes the cast feels tighter and I have a burning sensation on the top of my skin.

A few minutes ago, I thought my broken bone has moved but it's just the cast I am feeling on my foot. I am getting paranoid with all the things that I read.

The internet is a blessing and a curse .ha.

Whether I sleep on my back or on my side, I have nightmare or weird dreams. It's part of my everyday life.

I hope you recovery will keep going well

I think that it is pretty normal for your foot to swell when it's not elevated.   Does your cast feel tighter all over or just on your foot and ankle?  I didn't had a tight feeling on my leg at all and after a few weeks my cast felt looser on my leg probably from muscle loss I would guess.  I remember wanting to see my leg and foot and thinking I could just slide the cast off and put it back because it seemed so loose on my leg.  Well that sure didn't happen because the ankle was stablized and wouldn't bend at all to slip the cast off.  So, I guess that you don't have to worry about your broken bone moving since the cast keeps that from happening.  Where do you have the burning sensation?  I know some people talk about itching but I never had either burning or itching.  The burning might be helped with cooling the cast.  I think that the internet is a great tool but .....you know, you can't believe everything you read.  Have all good dreams in the future.     

It feels tighter on my foot mostly. It's on the top of my foot, close to where the bone is broken, that the burning sensation is the most annoying. but I feel under my foot too.

I also feel tingling every now and then in my foot and my little toe. the burning sensation Might be a skin rash due to the cast pressure. Elevating doesn't stop the burning sensation.

Removing a cast like this is definitely impossible. Or you need to have very very very flexible ankles ha.

I am going to ask my father if he can take me to the ER tomorrow. I would rather go there, have them tell me , it's nothing. Than wait and be worried. And if there is something they will treat it.

Lot of inaccurate information on the internet, that's for sure. Ha.