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5th Metatarsal Fracture Recovery

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laura145
laura145

Hello. I have a number of questions.

8 weeks ago I broke my 5th metatarsal after falling. I just got out of my cast yesterday and was out in an air cast/boot. And the doctor left me with a number of questions unanswered and my next appointment isn't for 4 weeks with no physio or such before hand.

1. Today I have been able to start walking, worst I have been is using one crutch, mostly able to walk with no crutches, is this ok after only a day? I don't want to go on doing myself damage. The doctor told me that for my next appointment there is a chance that if I feel able I could come in my own normal footwear, but he never said anything for until then.

2. When showering, afterwards, am I able to weight bear for a step or two without the boot on to sit down again to dress etc. I'm unsure on this

3. What exercises are good to strengthen my calf muscles and also to gain back full range of motion in my ankle, I know one or two from sports injuries, but i haven't been told anything of this nature for this specific injury.

Any help would be very highly appreciated, as I just don't want to damage my foot further and either permenently injure myself or hinder the healing process

As aside information, I'm 19, a little overweight but in relatively good shape.

9 likes, 626 replies

626 Replies

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  • ellemint
    ellemint laura145

    Posted

    It has now been 5 months, yes months, since I fractured the neck of my fifth metatarsal,( non-displaced) and it is still not even close to healed.  My x-ray yesterday showed that I have only minimal healing and now it is displaced.  I have been wearing that clunky uncomfortable air-cast boot for 5 months!-- even sleeping in it.  I am very discouraged.  I have received no direction from my terrible doctor at the fracture clinic as to how I am supposed to be able to maintain ankle flexibility or function, and now my back and hip hurt because my body is so off-balance.   My ankle flexibility is gone, and I can hardly bend the toes of the affected foot at all.  I can't believe that I haven't been prescribed some physiotherapy in order to maintain some semblance of flexibility and function, and next time I see that doctor am going to insist on it.  I have a very rushed rude young doctor (orthopedic surgeon) who will not answer questions (all he ever says is keep my foot immobile, no movement), and am trying to get another one but am on a 2-month waiting list.  This is in Canada. ( I am not impressed with Canadian health care.)
    • susan69134
      susan69134 ellemint

      Posted

      So sorry you are suffering, I broke my ankle and 5th met back in Feb. Thankfully I had a screw put in my foot, so I've been able to walk on it, even if it does hurt, it was thought weight bearing would encourage bone growth. I've almost full movement of the ankle but walk slowly with a limp due to the pain in my foot as the metatarsal showed no healing at last x-ray, physiotherapist says I've worked hard but doesn't think it's healed so have to wait for new x-ray next week.
    • ellemint
      ellemint susan69134

      Posted

      thanks for your reply susan...You've had a long road yourself since you were injured way back in February.  But it sounds like you have benefited from the physiotherapy since you've gotten most of your ankle mobility back --good for you!  I'm going to push to get a physiotherapy referral because all my doctor ever says is "immoblize" and I know he's the doctor, but it seems to me there are benefits to physiotherapy even if the metatarsal fracture hasn't healed.  Wishing you good healing!

      ~ellemint

    • susan69134
      susan69134 ellemint

      Posted

      There's a lot of physio you can do without putting weight on it. I started off just moving the ankle round and round, first one way then the other, wiggled my toes and moved the foot forward and back, all when I was in the bath. The warm water helped loads, did this before I had my first appointment and my physiotherapist said she was suprised at the amount of movement I had.
  • tiffany5334
    tiffany5334 laura145

    Posted

    Hi, I dislocated my fifth toe (pinky) completely - it was shooting at a 90° angle - and I went to the ER. He numbed it, gave me Norco for pain and put it back in place. I had an xray while there and they thought there was no brake and just a dislocated toe. So they sent me home and said buddy tape and rest when I can, no specific instructions given.. Three days later the hosp called and said I did indeed have a fracture in my fifth metatarsal bone. They did not explain further, basically said if I want to come get a post op boot/shoe I could and that was the extent of it. I have continued to go on and work daily, I am a hairdresser and I stand for hours at a time. I still cannot put weight on it and it still has shooting pain from time to time. Recently it had started to itch inside the bone, not from the shoe or buddy tape but a deeper itch, wondering if that meant it was healing? It's been exactly a week ago when I did this. Should I follow up with an orthopedic Dr on my own since the ER didn't think it was necessary to refer me to anyone or quit being a baby and just let it heal on its own?? I noticed the swelling has gone down considerably and the bruising has subsided... need help!
    • ellemint
      ellemint tiffany5334

      Posted

      Hi, if it was me I would make an apppointment to see an orthopedic surgeon, just to have it checked out, especially since you're on your feet all day and having pain (ouch!)  Good luck!
  • susan69134
    susan69134 laura145

    Posted

    Pain in my ankle and foot has been getting worse, after new x-rays this week clinic has discharged me as the fracture have healed, however the last two lots of x-rays show I now have Osteopenia (bone density loss) which as the Dr pointed out, I didn't have on my first x-rays, so must have been caused from being non weight bearing for so long. This he claims is what's causing the pain, I'm to go for a bone density scan, which my GP is to organise. Any one else had this?

    • ellemint
      ellemint susan69134

      Posted

      yes I have osteopenia in my foot too.   It was noted on one of my recent X-rays. The radiology notes said that the presence of the osteopenia could indicate something called sympathetic nerve dystrophy, which is a pain syndrome.  (The thing is I already have osteopenia in my bones overall, but apparently it is now worse just in that localized area of the broken metatarsal.) I saw my orthopedic surgeon last week and he said the foot was healed, and then I got the notes from the radiologist and he said the foot was only partially healed.  I am nearly 6 months out and still have quite a lot of pain in the foot, even at rest, but especially once I started to try to do simple physiotherapy exercises on my own.  For example, trying to stand up on my toes, even with both feet, is quite painful for the foot that has the partially healed 5th metatarsal fracture.  But I don't know if the pain is from the osteopenia, the healing bone, or both.   Anyway, I'm going to see a new orthopedic surgeon in a few days for a second opinion, and if I learn anything relevant I will post.  Good luck!
    • susan69134
      susan69134 ellemint

      Posted

      Thanks, I'm 7 months (31 weeks) post injury, I too find it hard to go up on my toes, hurts like hell, went to physio today, not much more they can do as I've got about 99% movement back and almost 90% strength. She says I'm to use a stick on very uneven or unstable ground, or if it snows and she wants to see me again one I've had the bone density scan. She laughed at me when I said I found myself doing the exercises all the time, like shifting my weight from one foot to the other when rocking my baby granddaughters and rotating my feet round and round when sitting down. One things for sure I think my days of high heels are over.

    • ellemint
      ellemint susan69134

      Posted

      I'll have to try that shifting from one foot to another.  I've persisted in getting up on my toes (with both feet, and I can tell I put most of the weight on the good foot), and gradually the pain when doing that has gone down a bit.  But it is going to be a huge challenge to stand on one toe with the injured foot.  But the foot hurts when I walk and I still walk with a limp.  Turns out I do have the reflex sympathetic dystrophy condition, and the marked osteopenia in the injured foot---all from disuse and non-weight-bearing for so long.   Of course I'm wondering if I should have been putting more weight on the injured foot when it was in the boot, but all the doctor ever said was "immobalize immobalize walk on your heel walk on your heel!"  I feel like my first doctor should have known I was at risk for these things since I already had osteopenia and had had breast cancer and treatments at a young age---all of which are risk factors for problems with bone healing. I can relate re the hells lol.  Man, I feel like getting steel-toed work boots...if anyone ever stepped on my bad foot I'd be like aargh!
    • ellemint
      ellemint

      Posted

       i mean heels ... smile
  • siobhan15506
    siobhan15506 laura145

    Posted

    I was put into a boot yesterday with weight bearing as tolerable. I was NWB for 17 weeks and 5 weeks post op. I have so much pain now in the boot and i presume its from all the nerves and muscles been used again.

    The top of my foot at the incision point burning really bad.

    Just wondering how long would the pain and the burning in the boot last? I understand each case is different too ..

  • ML220
    ML220 laura145

    Posted

    I broke my 5th metarsal trail running at the end of August this year. They took xrays at the Walk In Clinic, told me it was broken and gave me a boot and crutches. I didn't see a doctor until I had been home for 3 weeks. He showed me the x-rays and the bone was completely broken from top to bottom with slight displacement. He operated on it 3 days late and used wire to wrap around the bone once he had cleaned it out and replaced it. I used crutches the first week. The 2nd week he put me in a hard sole shoe and I was down to one crutch. Week 3 I am crutch free and walking almost normally. The stiches came out yesterday. My podiatrist said I should be in a regular athletic shoe by week 5. I am very active with Crossfit and this has been very depressing to say the least. I am able to do some of the activities and can ride a recumbent bike and use a rowing machine (with care). I am very pleased with the progress so far. My podiatrist says I should have full use (running, jumping, etc.) by 12 weeks. He has cleared me to bear full weight on the foot and next week I can start doing squats and lifting weight again. For the record, I am 49 and in excellent health. Like others have said, I have been told the more I use it the better it is for it. I work in a large manufacturing facility and make it a point to walk at least 5,000 steps a day right now. So far, no real pain at all with this break.
  • Blueshell
    Blueshell laura145

    Posted

    Just a quick update - 24 long weeks later and I've been discharged!!!! Still a small gap right in the middle of the break but consultant was happy the rest would heal in time. Limp has almost completely gone however it seems to start if I've been driving? Still wearing trainers all the time tho 😱 And think I will be for some time
    • ellemint
      ellemint Blueshell

      Posted

      Good for you!

      I'm 7 months out, and the fifth metatarsal is healing, but I still have pain, swelling, and a limp.  But ever so slowly the foot is getting better --and I do mean very slowly.  

      Just want to point this out to those in the future who are reading these forums and everyone else seems to be healing just fine after a few weeks.  That doesn't hold true for everyone.   

      Also told by my orthopedic surgeon that I should not return to running because I have the localized osteopenia in the affected foot that developed as a result of the fracture. If I run there's too much risk of a stress fracture.   I have been trying hard to find out of this disasterous side-effect (the osteopenia)  could have been avoided but have not been able to find out.  I am quite mad at the hospital where I had the foot treated that over the months, they failed to tell me that the osteopenia was developing in the foot which was clearly visible on the X-rays.  I actually made a formal complaint to the hospital but they have yet to deal with it.

    • emma81473
      emma81473 ellemint

      Posted

      Yes, thank you ellemint....agreed!  I am in month10, yes 10, but my fracture IS healing now, albeit slowly.  I still believe my fracture wasn't treated correctly in the first place (no boot, no nothing, just told to rest it, within reason) .In England you get whoever you get doctor wise when you go to Casualty/x ray...ok for uncomplicated fractures but not for those who may be complicated.  It took until April, 3 months after my fracture, to get referred to a foot specialist....and only then becasue I was asking awkward questions re Exogen bone stimulators and my consultant at the time, had never heard of the device (well he wouldn't , he turned out to be a spinal specialist!)  and told me the hospital didn't have one.  (they DID cos I had checked with the supplier!)

      I kept telling them all along that my circulation was bad, (and you need blood to circulate to heal..doh!) and that I have other skeletal problems with foot. 

      Unfortunately I may have developed Mortons Neuroma/or a trapped and swollen nerve, as have had a lot of pain in last two week, more painful than fracture ever was!  May be unrelated, may be due to the make up of my foot and joints , may be due to the fact my gait has changed because of my fracture. 

      BUT, don't get downhearted if you seem to be slow in healing, you may, and hopefully will, get there in the end...the end just may be slightly further away than you envisaged originally...which is a good thing cos if someone had told me when I did it back in December it would take nearly a year to recover I would have been devastated..a year without running...not good for me.  BUT..I have discovered a love of cycling, which I CAN do with an iffy foot so all is ok in the end!

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