Broken Metatarsal bone

[Hiking Fox]

I tripped over yesterday. Foot hurt. carried on walking to work, put some ice on it, hobbled round a fair bit, came home last night assuming I'd sprained summat, and than woke up in the middle of the night in severe pain.

The hospital X-rayed it, said I'd broken a metatarsal bone, bandaged me up and then showed me how to use crutches.

So there will be no running or hill walking for 6 weeks, and I'm not allowed to go back to work or college until a fracture specialist has seen me.

This is the first time I've ever had hospital treatment.

Has anyone on here ever had a similar injury? If so, do you have any tips for speeding recovery?

[JP]

sorry to hear about that

Speedy recovery!

[Hiking Fox]

Thanks JP.

It's not hurting any more - the bandage and strict instructions to keep my foot off the floor seems to have stopped any pain.

The main bummer is that I had booked a weekend in the Lake District for my boyfriend's birthday, and have obviously had to cancel it and stay home. Bah!

[drew]

depending on the severity of the fracture when you see the specialist they will decide 1 of 3 things. baring in mind im presuming the specialist is a otrhopedic surgeon at a fracture clinic, if you can be an arse and find the name of a consultant and ask to see him/her, rather than just a reg. prepare yourself for some omre xrays by the way from some off my wonderful collegues

1. the fracture will not be displaced and in a stable position, in this case they will just put you in a moon boot, basically its a plastic plaster that can be taken off, to imobilise your foot

2. the fracture is unstable or it is displaced, in this situation it will need reducing (mua, manipulation under anaesthetic) and possible fixing into place, usually using thiings called k-wires, a wire you drill into the bone through either side of the fracture fixing it, these are then removed when the bone has healed. i doubt it is the case as you were sent home and not admitted, but in more serious cases they would perform an orif, open reduction internal fixation, where they create an insition and reduce the fracture, then fix the bone in position using a plate and screws

3. they'll be in a flippant mood and just chop it off from the knee down

there arent any special tricks for speady recovery, the main one is if they give you exercises or advice regarding been weightbaring, do it, as often as they say. youd be amazed how many people dont.

my uni days are long gone and im sure ill get corrected on this but make sure you get enough calcium and vitamin d, if you've got to make more bone, might as well have in ingredients

youll be up and about in no time

[Hiking Fox]

Thanks for the tips.

I like the sound of the moonboot. I hope I get one of those, cos then I'll be more mobile.

I've just had a stir fry with lots of tahini sauce, tofu and dark green leaves, so hopefully that'll boost my calcium.

[spike]

Sorry to hear about your injury. Hope you mend soon.

[Hiking Fox]

Well, I'm back from seeing the consultant, the plaster cast is now off, and I've been given the all-clear to go back to work.

It'll take up to 2 months to heal though, so he said I should use one crutch to walk with (both if I feel the need), wear sports socks, and keep my walking around to a minimum. I'm also banned from cycling for a month, and hiking and running for two months.

The weird thing was, he asked whether I had a 'normal' diet and I must have pulled a face cos he then asked whether I was 'one of those extreme vegetarians'! So I said I ate a balanced vegan diet and then got a bit of a grilling about vitamins and calcium! I bet pasty-faced overweight burger-addicts don't have to have conversations like that in hospital

[mamawama]

Had a cast for 2 weeks (they didn't trust me to keep the boot on). I ran barefoot on the beach after a regular training run with orthotics. Seemed like a good idea at the time. It was a stress fracture...only showing on an MRI. I was back running in 2-3 months. Did a 10K a month ago, no prob. I'm also better about the surfaces I run on...can make a difference. Good luck! You'll be back soon.