5th metatarsal fracture (spiral mid shaft) - SURGERY?

I have a spiral break on the 5th metatarsal also that is 3 milimeters apart - I am very interested in what happened with your case - please respond.

 

4-6 weeks?

good luck with that. I had the same injury, choose surgery and couldn't walk for 9 weeks... i'm at week 13 and I still have so much pain and I'm a young fit guy. Don't expect your foot ever to feel normal again.

 

June 18, 2012
Hi, I broke my fifth metatarsal about thirteen weeks ago. I broke my foot on March 26th and I was given crutches and an air boot, no weight bearing. On April 17, about four weeks later, I was told to wean myself off of the crutches with partial weight bearing and I was glad too because the crutches caused some painful chafing in the under arm region. And was using them right, I was just a little heavy. That was at week four, so at week three, I started to use a recumbent exercise bike. I was training to run a 5k and had to stop after I fell off a step and broke my foot at mid shaft on the fifth metatarsal of my left foot. I had just bought that bike a few weeks before the break to cross train and had used it maybe a couple of times after assembling it. Exercise is always the best way to promote circulation (and good circulation is needed for a break like this) so knew I had to do something. I lifted small weights for upper body strength and used the recumbent bike for cardio. I like to think that the bike helped with healing because it improved my circulation. I propped the broken foot on the back of the bike pedal and pedaled with my good foot and pushing ever so slightly with broken foot by using the momentum that was created by the good foot. Let me warn you after the first time I used the bike, my foot swelled up a little. I propped it up overnight and it was fine the next morning. In fact, I used R.I.C.E.: Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation and the swelling went down overnight. The doc said that swelling after exercise is normal. The more I used the bike, the better I felt and the less it swelled. My foot and my mood felt better and I was happy that I had some control over my situation. I lost about fifteen pound during this ordeal because carrying myself on crutches helped me to realize what I already knew; I needed to lose some weight and so I did. I ate a lot of fruit because Spring had sprung and it was starting to get really warm outside. I would increase the time I spent on the bike from 30, 45, 60, 75, to finally 90 minutes on the bike and I used the bike about three times a week. On May 24th, I stopped wearing the boot and now I'm in a prescription insole. I was out of work for eight weeks. I prayed a lot. I took supplements like calcium magnesium and B Essential Vitamins. I also drank goat's milk with vanilla whey protein powder, which is surprisingly delicious! I also ate a lot of eggs. I used the calcium supplements and milk to build the bone/cartilage and protein powder and eggs to build the muscle/tendons in the foot. I feel better. I used goat’s milk instead of cow’s milk because I had a fracture before, my wrist, and it took like four months to come out of a cast and two more months to come out of a brace and so I decided to try the goat’s milk. I walk normal now. I have a prescription foot insole and I have been walking normal since about week ten. Initially, the break was displaced and when I felt the bone sticking out, I realigned it. I just popped it back in! It did not hurt, really. I thought I had just sprained my foot until I felt that bone poking out (not through the skin though). If I had of waited for the docs to see it, it would have started to hurt and swell more and they would have had to break it into place anyway. After I told the doc what happened, he said, “Okay, you saved us some work then, ha-ha.” On the x-ray the break was not displaced and that’s why I believe they didn’t opt for surgery to do a closed reduction, thank the Lord. At ten weeks I began soaking my foot in warm Epsom Salt as needed to relieve soreness. My foot has not made a union yet however I'm back at work and I'm glad. I work in the operating room so standing is essential and at the end of a twelve hour shift my foot does not hurt. It's not even swollen. That's funny to me since on the X ray it still appears to be broken. I still have to go back to the doc for X rays and the doc said it would take about six months for the x rays to show the bone making complete union. I strongly suggest getting the prescription insole. It was about seventy five dollars because insurance did not pay for it however it is truly worth it. Get a good pair of sturdy shoes like sneakers or hiking shoes (no heels) and put it under the insole of that shoe. The prescription insole will be thin and hard and it will make the shoe super stiff. I do notice that I walk with a switch in my hips more so now than before (I am female) and people do not notice a limp or anything. My family and coworkers say I walk normal. My doctor told me to let pain be my guide: if you feel pain slow down or stop, then try again later. In the mornings when I first wake up I will stretch from head to toe while I’m still lying down. At first, I could not do a full stretch because I would feel the pain in my foot when I would point my toes. So I now sleep at the foot of the bed and in the morning slide my foot flat against the wall/headboard or flat against the bed with the knee pointing towards the ceiling squeezing my bottom and pointing only the right foot. I did this is to improve range of motion tolerance. Speaking of stretching, I also did stretching DVDs to improve circulation about once a week. The internet is one of the first places I
came to, to get info about my injury and to figure out what steps (haha, get it steps...broken foot) I had to take to take care of the situation. I hope by sharing my experience, it will help someone too. I am still being careful, letting pain be my guide as directed. I am actually liking cycling better than running. I used to ride my bike all the time as a kid and I am considering buying a bike later. We’ll see.
For His Glory...

 

So that ssounds similar in my situation in the sense that I also have a fifth mid shaft metarsol and the first 4 weeks no weight bearing at all which is super hard for a 56 year old women, but the frustration was when they took and xray at 4 weeks it showed no healing so he told me another 4 weeks no weight bearing which made me crazy, went to another doctor who checked my foot i have no pain on touch and said, wean yourself off the crutches just cuz it doesn't show healing doesnt mean it isn't healing. So what do you think? im so afraid to make it worse and then have surgery.....

 

Awesome! THANK YOU (over 4 years later) for that post. It was truly for His glory and my benefit . Thanks~