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Broken 5th Metatarsal - Advice On Walking

Discussion in 'Ask your questions here' started by welsh_Girl, Jan 27, 2009.

  1. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest


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    hi there. i'm hoping someone can give me some sound advice ....I broke my 5th metatarsal on september 22, about 8 weeks ago. unfortunately, i'm a dancer so this is very no buenos for me. I booked a job performing on a cruise ship and have been in rehearsals in Toronto since november 4th doing very minimal performing with an aircast on....I was also given an exogen machine on the 21st of october and have been using that 2x a day ever since. My doctor in the states cleared me to take off the boot for good on the 15th of november, which is tomorrow, but I'm very nervous about it. I don't have a doctor here in canada but would it be worth it to seek one out for one last round of xrays before i actually do take this boot off...I'm feeling impatient bc that will put me out of rehearsals for another week or so...the foot feels pretty good. it's a little sore; however, this is my first broken bone ever so i'm not sure what pain is normal (because i havent walked on it in two months), or if some of the pain is due to it not being entirely healed. any thoughts?
     
  2. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    Your doctor said to take the cast off. He must have some reason to suggest doing that. It really depends on how you feel. You haven't used the foot in some time, it should be a little stiff.
    Not to freak you out but my doctor was ready to send me back to work. We had an x-ray and she said it was healing fine but my 5th met fracture still hurt. Come to find out it was still fractured and she read the x-ray wrong. I'm gonna have surgery on it and it's been four months. Frustrating!!
    Its sounds to me that you already think that you should get another x-ray and make sure its healed. At least it would put the question to rest.
    I would say I'm praying for you and good luck but neither of those will help your bone heal, so.......Get Well Soon!!
     
  3. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    thank you! I know it's kind of pointless to ask but i've just never been through this before and my career actually depends on it so it's very scary and frustrating :-/....may I ask ...what kind of pain were you in when it was still broken? i mean i did power vinyasa yoga this morning on both feet and it was fine. and i'm walking fine (Ish). i'm afraid to put full use to the foot bc i keep imagining i'm going to hear another snap so i'm still walking kind of funny without the boot....what was your pain like?
     
  4. VickieAnn

    VickieAnn New Member

    I had my boot on for about 12 wks then sturdy shoes for 3 wks. What is funny about my Jones fracture is that since I have been wearing regular shoes and walking on it, my foot now hurts at the fracture site. Before it hurt down by my toes. I think another xray is very much in order for you, if for no other reason peace of mind. Everyday I think I will go back to the doctor but I keep putting it off. I have the most pain in my knee on the other leg where it hit the ground. lol
     
  5. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    It has been four months since I had two two transverse fractures of the base of the 5th met. Over the first three months it slowly got better. After one month my ortho thought it was healing so it sent me to physical therapy, which was too painful for me. I understand its called "Pain and Torture" jokingly but it set me back two weeks. Plus the P.T. woman was a twat! (She was). I then used rubber bands on my own to strengthen it and stretched it out a lot. For the last month my foot has slowly gotten worse. My high and low ankle is sore, the fracture site is sore as well are my little toe. Mine is still fractured. Its a fibrous non-union. The peroneus brevis tendon is in the fracture site and there is no bony union.
    Sometimes mine foot still hurts like a motha f*****! :) But I was never able to run, put full weight on it, flex my foot or walk without some degree of a limp and I had to watch where I stepped.
    From what Ive read these fractures are famous for re-fracturing. But you being a dancer and an active person its not like you're just gonna stop living.
    I do know that there's a lot of good info in this forum and a lot of dip ****s on this forum and for just a regular person, who is novice to these types of injuries, it's hard to shift through it. Listen to your body! I'm sure it's a nice one being a dancer and yoga follower!! Hehe!! Peace
     
  6. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    I broke or fractured my 5th metatarsal (Jones fracture) 2 weeks ago, I visited the doctor (orthopedic) and he gave me a walking boot, no cast. He told me to wear this for 6-8 weeks. I have an appointment 2 weeks from now, but I'm seeking advice quickly. I'm not patient, haha. My question is that, I am already walking fine with or without the boot with only 3 weeks of healing time. Is this normal?
     
  7. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    Normal? Have you read any of the responses on this website about jones fractures and the complications that go with them? Your doc gave you a walking cast and your walking without it. I think your correct in saying you're neither a patient or have patience. You're probably a 30 second lover with the patience that you have.
    Good luck, god bless, I'm praying for you and may the force be with you!
     
  8. VickieAnn

    VickieAnn New Member

    Walking without the boot would not be in your own best interest. If it was a clean break you could cause it to dislocate and you would have to have surgery to have it pinned, this adds time to the healing. I broke mine in July and followed my drs orders to the T and I am still having pain and discomfort at the break site and mine was a clean break. I even had a splint I slept in at night. I did get osteopenia from not using my foot for 6 wks which made it more likely that I could get a stress fracture. Good luck.
     
  9. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    VickieAnn
    I have seen a few of your posts from time to time. On July 18th I fractured my 5th metatarsal. It was a comminuted avulsion fracture. It never healed so I had surgery on the 18th of November. Not to complain to bad but it was literally like fracturing it all over again. I was wondering when you fractured yours? What type of fracture it was? Did you have surgery? Is it now healed? What type of cereal do you eat for breakfast? Haha!
    Sorry for all the questions but I have been on the computer the last 4 1/2 months researching everything I can find about this type of injury. I've found research reports, classification systems and tons of medical literature regarding 5th metatarsal fractures. But it is hard to find someone with roughly the same injury and find out their experiences with their healing. Hopefully you will see this and respond. Take care.
    CB
     
  10. VickieAnn

    VickieAnn New Member

    I broke mine on July 20th, it was what the dr called a Jones fracture. It was a clean break and I think the reason it didn't dislocate was because I put no weight on it, it hurt too bad to walk on it. lol I went to the er and put a plaster splint on it but when I saw my dr the next day, he took the splint off and gave me a boot. I had to agree to no weight bearing till I saw him again two wks later. I also had to sleep in the splint. I put no weight on my foot for 2 wks, saw the dr and he told me I could do partial weight bearing but still sleep in the splint. He re xrayed the foot and it was healing and had not dislocated. I saw him again 4 wks later and he took the boot off and told me to wear sturdy athletic shoes till I could wear regular shoes with no discomfort. I wore athletic shoes for about 3 wks and started wearing my reg shoes. I had gotten pretty bad osteopenia in that ft from none use so he told me to walk as much as possible to build the bone up but be careful because I could get a stress fracture. My ft still hurts at the break site but not to the point that I have gone back to the dr. The swelling just stopped about a month ago. I didn't need surgery because my break never dislocated. And I eat no cereal, Greek yogurt every morning with pretzels. lol I understand about gathering information, I read everything I could get my hands on.
     
  11. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    The orthopedic surgeon I saw 2 days after I fractured it, on the 18th, he never looked at the x-ray. He put me back to work in a walking boot. The fracture widened and formed a fibrous non-union. I then saw another orthopedic on Aug 22nd and had an x-ray. That doc said it was healing fine but misread the x-ray, my podiatrist said you could tell it was a fibrous union on that x-ray. It wasn't until early Nov, when I asked for an MRI, that we found out it was a fibrous union. The podiatrist I see now said if they had told me no weight bearing that it would have healed at the beginning. I had an x-ray yesterday, done by the podiatrist who did the surgery, and I can tell that the intramedullary screw will have to come out eventually. The plate looked fine. He said I could try to start walking, only with the CAM boot on, but I don't have the strength in my leg. I still need the crutches for support.
    Sometimes I'm like HOLY CRAP!! I had never even heard of this type of fracture before. I think I'm finally on the down hill side of this thing now though. Thankfully!!
     
  12. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    You are all very brave.
     
  13. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    I don't think brave because I think I need to take valium. Just very anxious. Finding a quality doctor has been the biggest relieve so far.
     
  14. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    Oh yeah, I went to two doctors and finally found one that gave me some anxiety medicine. That and pain killers. There's few good doctors anymore.
     
  15. PainIzKiller

    PainIzKiller Guest

    I seriously hope your kidding about taking anxiety medicine because that stuff is not to be played with it will kill your drive to do work and make you depenedent on them. Dont mess with pain meds.
     
  16. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    I am the person who wrote on Dec 14th and also had a good small discussion with Vickie Ann. I could give a big fat f*** what you think that I should and should not take for medicine. It's obvious to me that even getting into the reasons that I say your opinion doesn't mean dog **** to me would be futile. Although I will say a couple things. Sometimes people need help. Sometimes that help is from a physician who has a doctorate in medicine. You say "kill my drive to do work", I can't work. It's been 5 months and will probably be another 3 months before I can work. So piss off....seriously!
     
  17. PainIzKiller

    PainIzKiller Guest

    I wouldn't hire you either. YOU'RE A DRUG ADDICT. You just need to admit it to yourself first and then you need to tell your family. It's the only way out of your addiction, please for yourself and your family's sake you need to get help for your drug addiction.
     
  18. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    I can't work because of my foot being so screwed up you moron! I can't go back to work until my foot is 100%. I have a job where me and my co-workers get drug tested randomly. I have been drug tested six times randomly in the last three years. I don't take ANY so called "pain meds", other then ibuprofen and aspirin sometimes. In fact in my pre-op before surgery I told my surgeon, nurses and the anesthesiologist that I didn't want any opiates after my surgery or for pain when I went home. Right after surgery my foot hurt so bad that they gave me something for the pain in my IV. Then they still gave me a prescription for percocet to take home and I ended up not even taking all of that prescription. So mind your own business you pretentious A-HOLE!! Or should I call you DR. PRETENTIOUS A-HOLE!!
     
  19. PainIzKiller

    PainIzKiller Guest

    First, you should calm down. Second, you are probably fat and need some meds for you cholesterol. Those are good meds to take because then your fatty heart won't croak out on you and your fat wife. I bet your kids are fat too. It runs in the family. Drug addiction can also be hereditary. So if you use drugs not only will your work bust you in their testing, but your kids will become drug addicts. This is a proven fact. Look it up, moron.
     
  20. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    Wow that guy with the bad language and drug problem is total loser. Way to give it to him PainizKiller.
     
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