Hi, broke base of 5th metatarsal almost 5 weeks ago. I had a cast on for 4 weeks and this was taken off last?

Question

Thursday. I am concerned because my foot doesn't look any different to when they put it in plaster in fact it looks slightly worse. To boot the doctor didn't even look at it just said can you stand on it I said yes and off he went.
However my foot is still very bruised and swollen as is my ankle, the back of my heel and lower leg and if I walk on if for more than a couple of minutes the whole lot swells up like a balloon!. Should I just wait and see what happens, see my own doctor or go to a Sports Injury Clinic, I really don't know what to do at the moment.

Am supposed to go back to work in just under 2 weeks and I walk there and back which is a couple of miles, but the way my foot is looking I don't think I will be able to do that.

Answer 1

I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but two weeks is a bit optomistic for the swelling to go down. Remember when you break a bone you also damage the muscles, ligaments etc. fairly severly as well. The cast inhibits their healing. But the swelling will go down and the pain will go away. It takes usually a month to six weeks before it's completely healed. If you walk on it as much as possilbe and bear the pain, it will heal faster. Think of this way, when you walk on a bruised foot you make it a little more bruised and it swells up. But until the cast comes off the bruised muscle tissue can't begin the healing process. The other answers advise seeing a Doctor, it isn't a bad idea just to be on the safe side but the likelihood of him or her having a cure for a bruise and swelling is zero, he will probably tell you the best way is to let nature take it's course, but the Doctor can do is give you pain killers.

Answer 2

Oh, your Dr. did wrong by you. Usually upon getting a cast removed, they do an x-ray to see if the injury has in fact healed. If it hasn't then they do another cast. You should go see a different Dr. It might be healed, but the Dr. didn't check to make sure and that can cause you more damage. And 4 weeks isn't long enough from what I know, I always had casts on for a minimum of 6 weeks and so has everyone else I've known that required a cast. It would be a good idea to go to a Sports Injury Clinic like you said, don't go back to the same Dr. he sounds negligent. Good Luck.

P.S.- I'm not saying it's not healed, but your Dr. should have checked. It's normal for it to look pretty bad after coming out of a cast, so don't be alarmed by the appearance, be alarmed by the fact that a second x-ray wasn't taken.

Answer 3

First off, I'm 21 weeks after breaking my base of my 5th metatarsal and my lateral malleolus (ankle) and I still swell up on use, as well as a constant smaller swelling on my ankle. In addition, the ligament that caused the foot fracture is still damned painful at the point it joins to the bone!

Second, my foot was bruised for about 13 weeks.

Third, my metatarsal took 19 weeks to completely heal and I had NO surgery (take note Sexy Red, mets don't always heal quickly even though mine was not the severe Jones type fracture and did not require surgery).

Give it a chance, if there's one thing I've learnt, it's that getting out of the cast is only the start of it...you have to learn to walk again, and you can only do that by keeping practising.
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Dear Red, you said, and I quote "Metatarsals they can only take about 4-6wks to heal no longer " well I will question you because you said quite clearly 'no longer', when from experience this is not always the case, and this person could still have a fracture.

You may see this type of injury every day, but have you ever had one? I have, and it DID take 19 weeks to heal, and for my Consultant to sign me off from hospital, so I will question you, especially when I know from experience that there IS such a thing as a delayed union of the 5th metatarsal.
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A hairline of the 2nd is different to an avulsion fracture of the 5th.

I'm really not sure why you are so aggressive, I merely pointed out that you made a sweeping statement which isn't always true, as I have found from my own personal experience. Yes MOST met fractures take 4-6 weeks, but not ALL. Unless you have long distance xray vision you cannot tell this person categorically that their foot is healed, only that it is probably healed. That is what I'm pointing out, and yet you seem to be reacting like a child having a temper tantrum. Telling me to go and hide? How old are you again??

Answer 4

Hi well first off all once you have fractured a bone in the foot you will still get swelling even once the fracture has healed this is normal,once you start to exercise the foot the swelling will start to go done so dont worry it is normal.Also when you are relaxing keep the foot up higher then your heart.With fractured Metatarsals they can only take about 4-6wks to heal no longer only when you have a bad fracture and you ould off had a operation for this,the Dr knows when a metatarsal fracture is healed,the bone is very small and heals very quick so dont worry.The bruised area will gradually go now,bruising can take up to 1mth before it starts to go,you must remember that the fractured a bone so u always get swelling and bruising this is all anormal.When a limb comes out off plaster it takes a bit off adjusting to get bck to normal,muscle wastage,weak,swollen,bruising,stiffness start to exercise the foot swimming is great for this injury,the more you exercise the quicker it will recover.Tyr and give yourself time before you go see your gp you have to give it time.Good Luck,email further if you want more advise.Oh Yes shiny i have been a senior orthpaedic plaster technician for 10 years i see this sort off injury everyday and i know how long a metatarsal fracture takes to heal so dont question me,i think i know aloot more then you oh yes also i said can take 4-6wks not will take 4-6wks ,and yes i have fractured my 2nd metatarsal about 3 years ago i had a slight hairline fracture put in to a cast for 4 wks,plaster came off cast bck on for a further 2 wks so yes i do know and i do know what im talking about obvously you dont so go away and hide shiny.What ever you can carry on here thinking your right i think im the professional person here.Oh yes im 37 actually and a mum too ,have a happy life lol

Answer 5

Get an ankle Velcro immobiliser and wear it all the time, the swelling
will soon go down. Keep the immobiliser in the event of future
problems. You will find the immobiliser in a post surgical store.
You may feel better with an immobiliser up to your knee, it is
a lot firmer and is often used instead of a cast. Try on both and
take the one that makes you feel better. I am a four time ankle
and foot victim with 4 surgeries and still have this immobiliser
after seven years from the last op. and use it whenever
swelling occurs. It works better when you use crutches
which can be the short kind rather than the big deal up to your
armpits. Make sure you get the one with an ankle stepping heel.

Answer 6

Signs of an infection: obvious redness around surgical site fever swelling oozing from surgical site If you've ever had an ingrown toenail, you know when it's infected. See if there is any similarity. I know it seems like a mickey mouse example, but is does help with correlation. The possibility it is infected is lower if you do not exhibit the above symptoms. However, any time you are dealing with hardware in the body, err on the side of caution. Contact your doctor if it bothers you that much. It'll hit you in the wallet and take up some time in your day...but I guarantee your doctor will freak if you wait and it "is" infected. Believe me, they do not take possible infections lightly. The other factors you may consider is your overall health & severity of injury. Are you a diabetic, smoker, how old you are, are you significantly overweight, did you have an open ankle fracture, significant skin trauma or deformity? There is alot to consider, but most of all don't risk it. Hope this helps!

Answer 7

Swollen Metatarsal

Answer 8

I had a similar injury a couple of months back, and when the cast came off after 4 weeks the foot was massive and had a lot of bruises because of all the destroyed blood vessels, however by walking on it and then resting it very meticolously ice, foot up it will be back to total strength in about 3 weeks. The reason your foot flares up so much is because your ankle is inhibited. You need to focus on your ankle. Do exercises rotate it a lot and you'll be grand I promise

Answer 9

I would suggest you go and get it checked out with the Doc and x-ray first to make sure everything is in order. The swelling is obviously indicating something isn't right.
To bring the swelling down you need to take some Arnica - ideally in as high a strength as you can get (you can contact a homeopathic pharmacy e.g. Ainsworths, Nelsons, Helios) they'll help. If they'll sell you a 200 or small bottle of 10M get that.

Once the swelling is down you can take Symphytum (order from Hom. pharmacy) and Calc Phos Tissue Salt (sold in Health food shops made by New Era) to help mend the bone.

Answer 10

Hmm. When I broke my little toe (well, actually my doctor said that it was unlikely to be broken, more likely a dislocation, the bones are usually too small to break), the GP just strapped it up to the rest of my foot telling me that the hospital wouldn't put it in plaster. There's bound to be a lot of bruising and it will look worse later rather than sooner.
It was a similar story when I broke my 'tail!' Painful to walk and painful to sit down - but I still managed to get to work even though it was impossible to drive.
It's amazing what you can do when you try - but try getting a second opinion first. Go and see your own doctor.