Broken foot

Well I'm not sure where to put this but i guess here is as good as any...

I broke my 2nd, 3rd and 4th metatarsal on saturday the 18th and I've fallen on it a few times since, I went to see the doctor today and he reckons one of my falls has pushed the bones together tightly and hes happy they won't move again. Therefore he's taken my cast off and given me permission to start walking on it again, which is great news! I certainly wasn't expecting it!

Now that I'm not looking at 6 weeks in plaster, I would like to spend the time i normally spend on leg conditioning, rehabbing the injured area. I was also thinking about still taking ibuprofen, purely for the anti inflamatory effects, as the foot is still bruised and swollen.. Although I don't know if that would be of any use.

I was just wandering what you guys would do, I've never really done much ankle/foot prehab and would be very greatful if anyone would offer there advice on what to start doing, so I can get back to walking properly without any problems!

Thanks guys!

Chris

That sounds highly improbable/impossible. Most likely if your doc wasn't reading the xrays himself then there was a misread at some point - either initially where you perhaps didn't actually fracture your metatarsals or on the most recent read and they are not 'fixed', or they imaged the wrong foot. I wouldn't be jumping around on it.

Well yes it does sound quite improbable, but I'll take the consultants word on it, whatever caused the bones to move is irrelevant. What matters is that the bones have moved and are in a good place, He's happy for me to start rehabilitation. I still have trouble walking, and i can't put my foot flat on the ground properly without discomfort, but I think I've injured myself enough to know the difference between discomfort and pain.

To elaborate, the bones were broken right where the metatarsals meets the phalanges, so putting any weight on the ball of my foot is very uncomfortable.

So far I've been doing toe flexion/extension, with both a bent and straight leg and bent and straight ankle. Trying to do 10 reps of each holding for a few seconds where it starts to get uncomfortable. Also been doing ankle mobility work, if nothing else at least the movement will increase bloodflow to the foot...

Anyone else have any other ideas?

That just doesn't sound right. Either way, if you have pain while weight bearing, you certainly shouldn't be flexing/extending your toes. You should be limited weight bearing, and if you're not in your cast anymore you should at least have some type of walking boot. Ice is going to be your best friend. I'm all for getting back to training full speed as soon as possible, but it's better to take it easy for a couple weeks and let things heal or at least start to heal than spend the next few years never feeling quite right with recurring ankle and foot injuries. If your consultant is not an ortho surgeon that looks beyond whether the problem is surgical or a sports med doc, I would get another opinion. You went from having 3 fractured metatarsals and being in a full cast to having your fractures somehow healed but you still have pain, swelling, bruising, and pain with weight bearing and no type of protective boot/air cast - again, sounds strange.

mmmm, you have a fair point, and it is only a very small minor injuries clinic. These lot actually misdiagnosed my friends broken wrist last year and he got a big cyst in his scaphoid...

The doc said the bones had impacted into each other a few mm so as long as they dont get too much trauma he thinks a decent training shoe would do me as much good as a cast, but I'm not sure whether I trust him...

2nd opinion sounds like a good shout, I might go and see my GP and see if he's happy with the doc's decision, it's broken right where you'd punch for tumbling passes, I'd very much like it to heal properly!

Thanks nail!

Let me know how it works out, good luck.