5th Metatarsal Fracture Recovery

I snapped my 4th and 5th metatarsals around the beginning of August but wasn't aware of that for about 5 days later when I went to the hospital for an X-ray. I was put in a moon boot which I used for around 4-5 weeks at which time it felt a lot better.

i wish now that I had been more cautious and left it longer as I still have low level pain. Hoping it will get better 😕

I had a non displaced 5th metatarsal break in August

Also a chipped ankle bone after falling down stairs

I was given a moon boot at a and e ..no crutches,

No follow up appointment with consultant. I did receive a phone call the following day from a fracture clinic nurse. She told me to wear the boot for 4 to 6 weeks then disgusted when I felt able

To walk without it. No further follow up appointment

It's now November and I'm almost back to normal apart from swelling after a day on my feet. I can feel pain at the site of break and chip but not restricting me in any way. I feel as though no one was much bothered or concerned by my injury ( medics ) and I'm amazed at the care given to others on here

Hello, 

42 , moderately athletic female.   It's been 10 weeks Post op since fixation for fractured 5th metatarsal displaced jones fracture - broken in 4 places -with 5 screw plate.   

During my immobilization, I totally got cabin fever.   Lots of tv & Netflix.

Hard cast was removed after 10 days which then I was fit into a boot with non weight bearing for another 14 days.   6.5 weeks post op , I was given a hard sole ortho shoe to wear while alternating with my own footwear.  I was in my own shoes a few days later.

I got around the house super easily and quick using a scooter which is absolutely a lifesaver and it's fast moving on non carpeted floors. 

Was challenging not having a bathroom on the first floor.   

I had to lift and scoot on my butt while holding my injured leg up going upstairs and downstairs.    The boot will get heavy.  Great upper body and abdominal workout.  I've read that some had crawled on hands like an infant but I found it easier to scoot backwards.  The shower stool became functional as prop to help lift myself up and as a walker to help me get around upstairs.

3rd post op and another round of x-rays I was cleared to bear full weight while still wearing the boot for another 3 weeks.   My life sorta got back to normalcy as I no longer had to use the scooter ,able to stand in the shower ,and I drove my car short distances -my injured right driving foot). 

Ive returned to full daily activities and low impact exercise.   I'm advised not to do exercises yet where my foot is in a bent position.   

My foot occasionally swells and gets achy and my area of the incision will become tender from friction since I'm very active and on my feet. 

its a tough injury but best advice is to remain positive - 

 

I am not living in UK, I traveled December 2009 to Aberdeen. All thing people said here, happened to me as well, worse thing is that I was a visiting student and had to start working in Lab. Even worse was that no one was there to help me to cook. People fro  my country just catch my money to deposit at their account as they convinced me that if I keep my money in the room, It will be robbed. They even did not visit me to ask if I need food. I just ate for 1 month only cheese and bread. That s how miserable I was. Having family beside you caring for you is a great thing that I missed at that time. 

I really uunderstand mentally affects the patient.

Hi All! This forum was such a good help for me when I fractured my fifith metatarsal, so I thought I would share what happened with me!

As some background I'm a 21 year old female, non-smoker, don't have any serious health problems and haven't had any previous bone breaks, fractures or problems. I broke my fifth metatarsal on the night of the 5th of August dancing (spiral fracture). I couldn't put any weight on it that night and my whole ankle was swollen like a golf ball. I iced and elevated it as much as possible over the weekend and when I still couldn't put any weight on it and the swelling hadn't gone down, I went to get an x-ray on the Monday. My GP wasn't sure of how to proceed so she referred me to the orthopedic surgeon at the local hospital. The surgeon at the hospital also didn't know how to proceed, so he put me in a back slab and referred me to a fracture clinic at another hospital 

Inital appointment at the fracture clinic was smooth sailing, I was put into a CAM boot and instructed to come back the next week for another check up. As expected, not much was happening the next week, which was around 2 and a half weeks. An appointment was booked for four weeks, so the 6 week mark. The whole time I was still no weight bearing, using crutches.

At the 6 week mark I went back to the fracture clinic, had another x-ray and was told that the fracture wasn't healing as well as they had expected. Looking at the x-rays, there was no way to tell the difference time wise, it looked the same. They told me at the hospital that they won't make a decision to operate unless it's between 3 to 6 months and it still hasn't healed. The next day I had an unrelated appointment and the doctor had actually done a similar thing and reccommended an orthopedic to me.

The next week (7th week) I got a second opinion from the recommended orthopedic surgeon. He said that from looking at the x-rays, it should heal but I would have long term problems with aches in the balls of my feet - the only solution to this is to go in, rebreak the bone and fix it. Not wanting any future problems, I opted to have surgery.

In the 8th week they operated (29th September) and this is where hindsight is magnificent. When I broke my bone, tissue had lodged itself between each part of the bone, which meant that there wasn't enough of either splinters of the bone to stick to each other and heal. Therefore it would never have healed naturally. The tissue around it would have worked as hard as possible but as soon as I went to put all of my weight back onto it, it would have rebroken the bone.

Now I have a plate and five screws in my foot. Post surgery was difficult for me. The hospital prescribed me with condone but I found it did not work at all. I was in a lot of pain, mainly because the blood flow rushed into the foot when it wasn't elevated. The mroning after my surgery when I went to the toilet I almost passed out! Each day the pain was less and less and after about a week I was able to finally put my foot down and start walking on it. It was still sore and ebcause I had had my foot in a boot for 8 weeks, the muscles and my ankle has seized up. It was like teaching myself how to walk again! 

Now I am walking easily and starting to increase my speed. I still have a few problems with my ankle, especially when its wet or cold weather, and when I've been sitting for more than an hour my ankle goes stiff and I hobble around! The biggest problem I had was the pressure on my heels. My feet would hurt worse than as though I had been walking around all day, even if I had only been up for 5 minutes. This has improved and I'm able to stand on my feet for longer and longer. I'm still not where I was before I broke the metatarsal, but it is improving. I have swelling of the ankle, which is more common when I have been standing all day or walking a lot. 

My advice is seek an orthopedic surgeons adivce almost immediately, especially if a doctor tells you it isn't healing! It can be exoensive but it is so worth it. If I had done that I would have saved so much time and I wouldn't have nearly as many problems with my ankle as I do currently. It can be a long recovery process for some people, but at the end of the day you'll be up and walking again! Best of luck to all and I'm happy to help out/recommend doctors if anyone is from Sydney Australia!

I cannot believe how long this will take to heal. Is anyone able to go outside and resume a partial normal life? I can barely get to the bathroom and back. I'm into week 4. Non weight baring. It looks like I have a while to go.

Stupid me- I thought it would be okay be now.