Broken 5th Metatarsal - Advice On Walking

I could not summarize it better than the poster above. I couldn't read past the first page because of how patronizing and hateful footdoc's comments were. I like everyone else broke my fifth metatarsal, and am recovering from having a plate and a few screws placed into my foot last week. I just wanted to browse how others were doing with similar issues, not see a some self-involved, ego-inflated doctor berate posters with his all mighty intelligence in all things medical, and don't forget that dose of disdain for anything paid by tax dollars. Even if you are a good doctor, I'm sure none of your pearls of wisdom make it anywhere past you hearing your own voice since no one could have the patience to deal with such abhorrent douche. It seems counter intuitive to wait until a post arrives so you can tell everyone that they are so stupid to not follow up with their doctors. I'm sure most people have their own sources for their medical advice, they don't need you, the constant troll waiting to wag your finger at someone.

With that being said, I hope everyone quick healing and good medical advice from medical professionals who have the patience to show common courtesy and respect, in addition to solid medical advice.

 

I broke my 5th metatarsal on June 2nd, 2012. I was off work the 3rd and 4th because I couldn't get a x-ray, got an xray on the 5th, left the hospital, got a walking boot and returned to work that day. The doc gave me a note for the 2 days I was off because I couldn't walk but no time off after that. Although I was in a lot of pain I wasn't given crutches or a wheelchair. It was actually my doctor's orders to walk on it...he said if I laid up off work, or nursed it with crutches or a wheelchair it would take longer to heal.

Makes sense to me!! I was out of the boot in 6 weeks (my ortho gave me that time frame), had a follow up appointment 2 months (August) after the break and given the doctor's ok to ease into running again!

I still have very dull aches in the break on rainy days and sometimes after a long run but I'm fine now!

 

5th Metatarsal base transverse fracture that is undisplaced:

Hi forum,

How long should I wait before I can loose the crutches and just walk around on my boot. (I am actually currently doing this over short distances and am getting into trouble from my friends in my office- but it causes me no pain so I am tempted to leave my crutches when walking around my office and at home, but i realise this could impede my healing process...) Doc said i will be in the moon-boot for 6-8 weeks, im not sure about how long i should use my crutches for though.

Any advice?

 

I got hit by the back tire of a forklift as i was walking away from it.. this happened April 30, ER took Xrays and said i have a 5th metatarsal fracture, put me in a soft cast and no weight bearing along with crutches. 2 days later, i seen an orthopedic Dr. and took the cast off to do follow up Xrays, same thing showed. so he put me in a walking boot, foot wrapped in dressing and an ace bandage. He said he wants me to put some weight on it and sent me back to work with crutches, but with restrictions, to sit down only. I can put a little tad bit of weight on it while im drugged up with vicoden. other than that it hurts bad, and at night time, when im sleepin, i wake up periodically from the bottom of my heel and arch throbbing with pain. To me it just seems like all Drs care about is how they are going to get paid. Then the healing process begins. Good luck, I want to know how long it takes to heal also. I hate the crutches and hate asking or depending on help from anyone.

 

I broke my 5th metatarsal (transverse on the base) just over 2 weeks ago from rolling over on my ankle. I was non bearing for 2 weeks until 2 days ago I went to prom in a surgical shoe with no crutches and had no pain! I am already walking with no pain

 

I have a comminuted fracture of the 5th also, I have the boot and I have been told no weight for 6 weeks.After that i will get an x-ray to see how the healing process is coming along,hopefully lose crutches then.The one thing my doc did say was that the most important thing was staying off the foot.That is my two cents of "wisdom".

 

HAHAHAH footdoc you are one rude person

 

I broke my 5th metatarsal was in a post op shoe for 3 weeks.. Then was told to start wearing regular shoes. I have been walking (limping) on it since day one I was told 6/8 weeks to heal.. I can not do any step classes or jumping for another month. That is how I fracture mine. Really, I can walk normal now but still have pressure sometimes. How long does it take to get back to normal activities? I have to go back in one more month for another xray

 

I was told by my orthopedist that it will take about 12-16 weeks to fully heal the bone,hopefully walkable after 6 weeks but not fully healed.

 

Office chair is the answer KarenM...then leave your crutches in a room that has carpet and you should be all set...Been non-weight bearing for only 5 days an I'm doing very well w/the office chair

 

Broke mine 4 weeks ago August 24, 2013...was a clean break by twisting my ankle. I have moonboot and crutches that I use when I can, but for the most part have been walking on my foot. My last X-ray showed little healing, I go again in about a week for follow-up. I have no pain at all and my foot is looking really good. What I want to know how can someone not put weight on their foot for a month...unless you are put in a hospital or basically rot in your room and give up your life and hire a maid full time there is no way. I m a care taker to my son who is recovering from a traumatic brain injury, have 4 dogs, my house has 3 flights of steps...I also am a runner, 5 miles every day. I have been using an exercise bike, already did about 100 miles with my broken foot and it never hurt in the slightest. From reading all the posts I have concluded your foot will heal eventually even if you must bear some weight...because I dont believe for a second anyone can live without doing so. All I know is that I will be back on my treadmill in 2 weeks no matter what.

 

^^^^^

I agree for the most part, but I'm sure there are fractures that really must be NWB. I tried to be NWB for 3 weeks post injury and except for walking to the bathroom and getting around in close places I was.

My injury was 6/30/13 and while I am not limping and I can walk for fairly long distances (1-2 miles) I still can't play tennis or jog. I'm hoping I can do those things in a few weeks. I can ride a spinning bike and work out on the eliptical machine. The problem, so far, is not pain at the point of the fracture, but it's the rest of the foot/ankle. I'm sure I have tendon and/or soft tissue damage that need rehab.

My last Xray was three weeks ago (about 9 weeks post injury) and one of the Xrays still showed the break. Two of the Xray views looked normal. I go back in about 17 days for another round of Xrays. I hope it's healed.

 

Final update: I returned for what I hope is my final visit with my ortho today and he gave me a green light to jog, play tennis, etc. He looked again at my 8/31/13 Xrays and squeezed and pushed at the point of the fracture and said the bones have healed. He didn't need another round of Xrays.

My toes and arch are sore after exercise (extended walking, golf, spinning ,etc.) but there is no pain around the point of the fracture. He just said to ease back into tennis and jogging and the soreness should go away over time as the soft tissue is reconditioned.

When this happened I never would have believed it would have been a 3+ month healing process. But I'm glad it's pretty much over.

 

Just to put some perspective into potential healing times for those who have had ongoing problems after a Jones fracture.

I broke the 5th metatarsal on my left foot on 4th November 2012 playing football at the age of 42. I was put in a cast and told to gradually walk put weight on it as long as the pain was not too bad. I did this and was walking without crutches within 3-4 weeks. The cast came off 5 weeks and 2 days from the day it broke and I was told to refrain from running and sports for a further 3 to 4 weeks. 8 weeks to the day of the break I went back to running daily and 5 days later resumed football training, playing a competitive match 2 days after that.
My doc was very good but warned be of the propensity for non-union due to the location, my age, and the complicated nature of the break. However, as you can see from the above, things went about as smoothly as I could have hoped.

Unfortunately, I suffered the same break on my right foot on February 16th 2014. This break was right through the bone but cleaner as there was no displacement or debris this time. I have been in a cast for the last 3 weeks but am already walking without crutches and can feel that this break is healing even better than the last one.

For those fellow sufferers with a Jones fracture, hang in there guys. 

 

I saw in the news yesterday that Claye Beams from the Lions fractured his 5th met and is booked in for surgery so you would guess is is probably a Jones Fracture, they are talking about an 8 week layoff.

 

You sound like an extremely hostile person. I've read your 'advice' in other threads and you consistently come across as condescending and nasty, which renders any helpful advice you might give unpalatable. You seem very knowledgeable; why can't you be a little kinder?

 

Sorry, that was in response to "Foot Doc"'s rantings and ravings. But anyone who managed to get to the end of this thread probably knew that already!

 

I AM NOT A DOCTOR
I want to make that clear but I did go through the the struggle of several broken metatarsals and can offer some ACTUAL ADVICE to those that come here seeking an answer.

First off, if you have a fracture to any of the foot bones its going to take a while to heal. There is no magic 2 week cure and your not going to be able to somehow heal way quicker than everyone else. But with that in mind you can heal quicker than the rest If you do the following.

First off, get your broken foot mobilized. A walking boot will work in most cases. This will cause you to severely heal strike but that is what you want in order for the front of your foot to not be used. Also get your self a pair of what I call Klonker shoes( Thick healed shoes, which I normally think of as the devil) A pair of klonkers will do 2 things. 1 they will help keep you somewhat balanced when your bad foot is in the boot and help to lesson the chance of nagging injuries while you wear the big ass boot. And 2, I will recommend wearing theses awful things once you remove the boot for a week or two. Think of these shoes like you would a hammock. Laying in a hammock feels great but if you did it all the time you will be lazy and weak. So once the boot is removed we are going to slowly strengthen both feet back up and wearing the klonker shoes when your strength work is done to rest.

Lets go back to the healing process. First of all I would recommend keeping a self blog or notes. this will be huge for you to understand if you are healing or not and help you learn what your foot likes or doesn't like. So if today is day 2 of your injury write that down and also do what I call light squeeze test and write down what makes your foot hurt and where. Do this everyday at the same time frame everyday. You will find that some days it will hurt in the morning but not in the afternoon and vice versa so keep documents, this will help all around but more than anything it will be your guide to when you are ready.

This process will take about 4-6 weeks of boot wearing with 4 being any metatarsal other than the 5th and the 5th generally taking 6 weeks or more.

Here is what I what recommend (again I am not a doctor I just speak through a ton of research and personally going through it a few times)

Week 1- wear boot all the time (except shower and sleep, but be careful any time you remove it because you can set back the process buy any little bump or awkward step)
Week 2- Wear boot as much as possible but feel free to slip on Klonkers in the house if pain is subsiding (check your notes, if pain is worse the next day keep wearing the boot all the time) Again while wearing the klonkers avoid any hard movement and be carful, you don't want to set it back but its just nice to get that big ass boot off.
Week 3 same as week 2 but I would begin some form of exercise (while wearing the boot) A stationary bike works best because you can ride the bike with the boot on and only apply force to the heal of the foot.
Week 4- same as above but I would add in some swimming (your foot will love the water, and feel much better afterward but again avoid setbacks while your foot is without protection.)
Week 5 & 6 same as above, check notes make sure you are improving before advancing to this. If things look good begin WATER walking with very gentle force.
If all things look good at this point you are ready to begin your normal routine.

THIS PART IS HUGE!
When you go back to your regular thing if your an athlete take it ultra slow. (This is the part that took me a while to master) I am going to use running as an example (I am a triathlete so it applies for me and many that have this issue) Your first test run should be short like .25 miles, if everything checks out the next day I would walk .25 miles (when walking do it in something that makes your whole foot stretch and strengthen (not a klonker) Then repeat this run/walk process upping it 10-15 percent each increase of mileage for the first week. And then upping your total weekly mileage no more than 15% each week until you are back to your comfort zone. NO SPEEDWORK for the first month. If things are going well go ahead and slowly bring speed work back the second month.
This part is critical because athletes we are all craving the feel of a long workout or a fast one, harness that and stick to the plan or you will be starting all over from scratch again.

Things you can do to assist this process and have a higher success rate (or possible speed it up just a touch);
Eat a healthy diet, I am not here to preach to you on how to eat but anytime you eat healthy you are going to recover faster from workouts and also injuries.
PINNAPPLE!!! Eat a lot of it as it is the number one food that will assist in bone healing.
Hot tub (after week 2) hot tubs promote blood flow and help get nutrients to the bone. I would also give the foot a good hand rubbing daily to help promote the same good blood flow. A good time to do this would be when you are doing your daily assessment of your foot before you blog about it.

Hopefully the above helps, It sucks to go through so keep your head up find some new things to keep your mind side tracked and stick to the plan.
Jason

 

Hey FootDoc. Yesterday I slipped off a ladder and heard a snap. Think I broke something somewhere in my foot but can't be sure. I don't like to take risks so thought I should cast it regardless. My friend is a ceiling fixer and I was wondering if you could save me a visit to the doc and tell me whether he should build me a half or full cast? Also if you could point me to any DIY sites he could follow that would be great.

Thanks in Advance