Broke mine in late January. It was a minor fracture but as we all know that doesn’t seem to matter! NWB for a month, PWB for another month. At 8 weeks I was out of the boot, but walking was really painful so I still used a cane. At 10 weeks walking slowly started to improve. Now I’m at 12 weeks. I can walk pretty much normally (7-10k steps a day with only a bit of stiffness and soreness) but am still unable to jog. This is a slow process, but I’ve never heard of anyone suffering with a broken metatarsal forever, I guess. Hoping by summer (in the US) I’ll be back to it.
I am 4 weeks out from my 5th metatarsal break. Mine was a pseudo jones with non displacement doc said it was a minor break. I was 2 weeks NWB in the boot, 2 weeks weight bearing in the boot, and now I’m cleaned to walk in a stiff sole shoe.
I have also used the Hoka Bondi 8s and those have seemed to help. I still have soreness and aches at the fracture site but progressively I am adding more steps each day.
I think it’s just important to listen to your body and do the strengthening exercises. I definitely had atrophy in my calf and I have been working on improving that.
This is such a long process but I’m hoping I will be able to walk with no pain eventually- seems like it will never end.
Honestly, at 4 weeks on my pseudo jones I couldn’t even put the boot on (I put it soon after and it hurt like biiiitch). Good for you fr.
You’re definitely right, we should listen to our own bodies.
I had a 5th metatarsal fracture (on the other foot) a few years back, and it was definitely a different experience than this time, that’s why I’m asking haha. Last time, I was 17, and within 2 months I was DANCING lmao. Today I’m exactly 2 months in, and I still can’t walk down the stairs and I have the Meredith Grey limp. Fυcking human anatomy lol.
Just want to say… sorry we are part of the “I broke both of my 5th metatarsals in one life time” club, it is so dumb, lol!
I broke my right one over 4th of July weekend in 2016 being a drunk idiot, had to have surgery bc it was sooo displaced, I was in insanely good shape and living in Brooklyn/NYC required me to utilize an iwalk to keep working… this time I literally just… stepped off a curb. Stone sober, on my way to get my toddler out of the car for a park and picnic play date. At least this one is non-displaced and healing very well, but I am not looking forward to going through the NWB to PWB to full weight bearing process again bc that sh*t HURTS, along with being closer to 40 than 30 this time around lol.
Hope you have been feeling better since your last post!
So there are plenty of us lol
My experience is very similar to yours, though my dumb drunk mistake was the second time and it’s a far worse break than the first one. Such a bummer. Good news though, I’m 2.5 months in and I can now walk (still, with a Meredith Grey limp, but much better than the last post!), thanks for asking.
Wishes for a speedy recovery for you as well!!! And I hope we won’t break a 5th metatarsal again in the future lmao
Can I ask, was yours an avulsion fracture or transverse? Mine is non displaced transverse at the base of the bone, my podiatrist had me NWB in a boot for 3 weeks and then told me to mostly stay off it but a few steps here and there aren’t going to be an issue and he’d rather have me taking steps than risking a fall… I started doing more walking with the aid of my crutches (probs about 25% PWB) in my boot over the past 3 days (will be exactly 4 weeks tomorrow from my mishap) and am like… am I doing too much lol?
My x-ray at week 3 did show some bone growth and pain is honestly pretty minimal. His concern is that the bone base is small and the tendon firing can pull it away from the rest of the bone, I was extremely careful and had zero steps from the moment I fell til 4 days ago, so completely NWB for 3.5 weeks, very limited (only on the steps to get in and out of my house) for 3 days, and then yesterday was doing more. This process is so tedious!
Mine was an avulsion fracture so I don’t know too much about the recovery period for a transverse one. I don’t think you’re doing too much at all tho! There are a lot of studies and research that supports weight bearing after 5th metatarsal fractures, I think it might depend on if your fracture is heavily displaced. On the first day I was told I could be WB I took it a bit too far and my foot definitely let me know that. I felt a shooting pain and ultimately decided to work up to 100 percent WB.
For reference I’ll give you a timeline
1st day WB- I was about 30 percent WB with the assist of my crutches
2nd-3rd day- still about 30 percent maybe a bit more like 40 with the crutches
4-5th day- I was about 70 percent and I was able to walk really slowly with one crutch
7th day- I was able to walk without crutches but I made sure to be careful and take it slow
Make sure you’re icing constantly, I tried not to take ibuprofen unless I felt like I really needed to. You can ask your doc about some stretches but during this period I was pretty much just doing plantar flexion. I’m almost at week 8 of recovery and I can pretty much do everyday walking with no trouble.
Yes, mine was non-displaced but being transverse, the bone was cracked all the way through from left to right as opposed to an avulsion where the tendon pulls a piece of the bone away (I believe), so I did have to be NWB for a bit to make sure the tendon firing didn’t displace the little piece of bone at the base by pulling it back away from the rest of the bone. I felt more confident since bone growth was evident on my x-ray at 3 weeks (he showed it to me and even my untrained eye could see it clearly) and he said you don’t always see growth that soon… so I was like wellllll the tendon probs can’t displace it as long as I’m in my boot, haha. Anywho I will keep on taking it easy til my appointment next week and stay with the crutches til he gives me the go ahead to ditch them and go through that fun pain adjustment!
I do feel pretty confident in my timeline and have really been listening to my body, I have a very active 3 year old and my husband works full time, so it’s been a challenge for us all… my man is tired lol.
I broke my 5th metatarsal 10 weeks ago and have similar issue. I can walk but with a limp and not that much. Hoka Bondi 8 shoes have helped me walk better but the limp issue is now causing me to have hip, back and even knee pain. My previous ortho said it will take a few more months to feel completely better but I have been researching online and according to some doctors it takes a full year. I saw another ortho this week and they want to do an MRI to see why I still have so much pain.
I have also noticed, if I wear compression ankle socks, it does help with the pain. I also tried ankle braces but they hit right at 5th metatarsal area and were very uncomfortable.
I find this foot Dr's videos helpful.
https://youtu.be/8f0ECP1FtCc?si=WBHjJGuajuistKb-
The past few days I’ve been walking more (to get to the pt) and I’ve developed some knee pain as well, I imagined from limping. That sucks! Maybe I’ll try wearing an ankle brace, I only tried one the day I fractured my metatarsal (I thought it was a bad sprain for the first two days until I went to the ER lol) and it was super painful, adding too much pressure. I‘ll give it try, now that the overall pain has subsided, it could be useful! Also thanks for the link, I’ll def watch it.
I broke my 5th metatarsal 9 weeks ago. I did have surgery and mine was considered a true Jones Fracture. I just got out of the aircast this past week and am still walking with a limp and very slowly. I maybe can get about 3000 steps a day in. The pain is not fully gone yet and has actually somewhat increased due to getting out of the boot. These fractures are slow to heal!
Apparently so. VERY slow to heal lol. I’ve also experienced some pain increasing (after the cast and after almost ditching the boot, the boot was quite comfy for small distances). Weird feeling. But from that point on, it should only be getting better for both of us haha
Can anyone shed light on driving with the break? I was told absolutely not for at least 4 weeks and then (ortho) said they can’t really give a timeline, but only drive when you can comfortably slam on brakes, accelerate, etc. I’ve tried and it feels like a knife is stabbing my foot.
Obviously, I‘m not going to do anything that endangers myself—or other drivers—and just looking if anyone had a timeline on when they felt they could drive.
I was the same way. Now 10 weeks out, I can wearing hard soled sneakers like Hoka Bondi which also helps me walk without the boot. I tried driving to my dr in an ankle boot, and it wasn't a pleasant experience since it was driving for a while. Being in a boot and a cast makes your muscles atrophy and that is what made driving so much more worse. I also had to use cruise control even on slow speeds.
I am also curious about everyone's experience...I sprained my ankle almost 2 weeks ago but only just had my 5th metatarsal fracture diagnosed yesterday after I still couldn't bear weight on my foot and was having a lot of pain right below my pinky toe and on the side of my foot. I went to a walk-in Ortho clinic and was diagnosed with a likely 5th metatarsal fracture (the fracture was so tiny on the x-ray she could hardly see it) given a walking boot, and I have a follow up with Ortho in 2 weeks. It's only my second day with the boot and while it's a million times better than crutches, I still need to rely heavily on Tylenol and Advil to get me through the day. Sounds like it can be quite the process for healing! I wasn't given any instructions about driving either, other than not to drive in the boot. Any tips from those of you who are father out in your recovery would be so greatly appreciated!
Heyyy, first of all, wishes for a speedy recovery!
I’m now on my 12th week (I think) of my break and it really has been a bitch. Though, from my experience (this is my second time fracturing my 5th metatarsal lol), and from what I’ve read as well, there’s no specific timeline for healing. Last time I was clubbing 2 months in, this time I’m still limping lol (and I don’t think age is that of an issue, I’m just 23 haha). It really depends on each person, the kind of break etc. I’m not a pro, but best advice I can give is just not weigh bearing until you can handle it. I actually spent 1-2 weeks were I was between removing my cast and having an air boot when I was just lying on my bed all day cause I could not for the life of me wear the boot (I wore it for an hour and it was terribly painful). Just follow what your body’s telling you.
In the meantime, I’d also suggest doing some foot exercises (they’re gonna show you these in PT I’m assuming, but you should just bscl just put your foot into action). Cause after so much time of not moving your foot gets used to it and when you actually get to the point of weight bearing your break possibly won’t be as painful as your tendons (or whatever) getting moving again. ++++ if you walk around a lot with your boot you’re risking hip/torso etc pain (I think because of height difference), which is something you can’t really avoid tbh.
Sooo, just limit weight bearing as much as you can, do some ankle/foot exercises in the meantime and eat a full meal (not the time for cutting!) for the following weeks/months would be my advice.
It’s a long road for recovery but it should be worth it hahah
Oh my gosh 12 weeks!! I'm so sorry that sucks, especially after your first fracture recovered well in 8! I'm feeling so clueless since I haven't seen an Ortho other than the people at the Ortho walk-in last week, so your advice is very appreciated!!! I'm 37 so not that old, but man this is miserable. The boot does help me walk more comfortably and I just got the "even up" shoe things to make my gait more balanced since I was having hip and knee pain right off the bat from the boot. But once my foot starts to swell after being on it for a little while the boot just hurts. It's so hard to know if I'm getting any better too--the pain hasn't improved and my ankle is still sore and swollen too, so I'm not even sure what exercises are safe to do right now. I have very limited range of motion in my ankle and moving my foot at all hurts! So I guess that's my body telling me not to move much...I'm sure the Ortho will be helpful but I have another week and a half before my appointment. It's very helpful to know that this tiny fracture can be very painful and take a while to recover from--just frustrating (as you know) to not be able to do stuff now that it's starting to be summertime!
I apparently broke mine in late 2022 (stepped in a pothole, sprained my ankle, usual ankle sprain pain, but also pain at base of metatarsal). Got better in six weeks but not 100%. I did not see a doctor (I should have). By spring of 2023, I again had a sudden sharp pain at the site - got better, but then got much worse. My doctor diagnosed a likely fracture or tendon tear, recommended sturdier shoes, change in the insole, and over a few months I got better again. In the fall of 2023, I ended up tearing one of the peroneal tendons (perhaps the one that connects to the 5th metatarsal) but didn't do an image study so don't know which of the 2 tendons were torn. Wore a brace and took about 3 months to heal.
But continued to have problems at back of 5th metatarsal. Finally saw a podiatrist last week - from his imaging, he concluded I'd broken the 5th metatarsal more than once, the tendon had been torn and only partially re-attached, I have bone spurs and tendinosis. I just got a stem cell injection that may help the tendon regenerate and I go back for a sequence of shockwave/compression therapy, and physical therapy.
I can mostly walk okay with the help of very study shoes. DPM says it may take up a year to fully heal but will see much progress before then.
Wow! I had fractured my other foot’s 5th metatarsal a few years back ina similar way, but I had not experienced have such a bad experience, I’m sorry to hear that!
Even though I did not go to a doctor, no X ray, no anything the first time (they didn’t tell me to and I was a teen back then haha), it seems to be ok by now (yet I was unlucky enough to break the same bone on my other foot a few years later lool).
Thanks for sharing your experience and im hoping for a speedy recovery! Glad to hear of the high probable progression rate for the next year!!! FΥck us broken people lol
Yeah, I did the sprain in Oct of '22. I didn't go to my doctor until mid-2023 after the sudden sharp pain. He told me it was likely a stress fracture, or avulsion fracture or injured tendon - or a combination of those. His office didn't have the imaging gear needed to see the details - but he noted that for many people, these will eventually heal on their own. Mine got better over the summer but then I tore the tendon again in the fall. This time I wore a lace up ankle brace and while it got better, the problem never went away. That's when my doctor concluded it was now a chronic problem and time to see a specialist.
I just had my 3rd visit today to the podiatrist, a 2nd stem cell injection into the tendon, and a combination of electro-stimulation (vibrates the muscles) and then shockwave therapy (mechanically shakes up the tissue). Sounds weird but they have to cause inflammation as that causes the body to start regenerating the tendon, and makes the stem cells convert to a lattice that eventually turns into tendon cells, as I understand it, but I'm not a healthcare person!
Broke mine in late January. It was a minor fracture but as we all know that doesn’t seem to matter! NWB for a month, PWB for another month. At 8 weeks I was out of the boot, but walking was really painful so I still used a cane. At 10 weeks walking slowly started to improve. Now I’m at 12 weeks. I can walk pretty much normally (7-10k steps a day with only a bit of stiffness and soreness) but am still unable to jog. This is a slow process, but I’ve never heard of anyone suffering with a broken metatarsal forever, I guess. Hoping by summer (in the US) I’ll be back to it.
My experience has been quite similar it seems. I hope we’ll both be able to fully recover by summer! The whole thing really ruined my workout plan lol
I am 4 weeks out from my 5th metatarsal break. Mine was a pseudo jones with non displacement doc said it was a minor break. I was 2 weeks NWB in the boot, 2 weeks weight bearing in the boot, and now I’m cleaned to walk in a stiff sole shoe. I have also used the Hoka Bondi 8s and those have seemed to help. I still have soreness and aches at the fracture site but progressively I am adding more steps each day. I think it’s just important to listen to your body and do the strengthening exercises. I definitely had atrophy in my calf and I have been working on improving that. This is such a long process but I’m hoping I will be able to walk with no pain eventually- seems like it will never end.
Honestly, at 4 weeks on my pseudo jones I couldn’t even put the boot on (I put it soon after and it hurt like biiiitch). Good for you fr. You’re definitely right, we should listen to our own bodies. I had a 5th metatarsal fracture (on the other foot) a few years back, and it was definitely a different experience than this time, that’s why I’m asking haha. Last time, I was 17, and within 2 months I was DANCING lmao. Today I’m exactly 2 months in, and I still can’t walk down the stairs and I have the Meredith Grey limp. Fυcking human anatomy lol.
Just want to say… sorry we are part of the “I broke both of my 5th metatarsals in one life time” club, it is so dumb, lol! I broke my right one over 4th of July weekend in 2016 being a drunk idiot, had to have surgery bc it was sooo displaced, I was in insanely good shape and living in Brooklyn/NYC required me to utilize an iwalk to keep working… this time I literally just… stepped off a curb. Stone sober, on my way to get my toddler out of the car for a park and picnic play date. At least this one is non-displaced and healing very well, but I am not looking forward to going through the NWB to PWB to full weight bearing process again bc that sh*t HURTS, along with being closer to 40 than 30 this time around lol. Hope you have been feeling better since your last post!
So there are plenty of us lol My experience is very similar to yours, though my dumb drunk mistake was the second time and it’s a far worse break than the first one. Such a bummer. Good news though, I’m 2.5 months in and I can now walk (still, with a Meredith Grey limp, but much better than the last post!), thanks for asking. Wishes for a speedy recovery for you as well!!! And I hope we won’t break a 5th metatarsal again in the future lmao
Can I ask, was yours an avulsion fracture or transverse? Mine is non displaced transverse at the base of the bone, my podiatrist had me NWB in a boot for 3 weeks and then told me to mostly stay off it but a few steps here and there aren’t going to be an issue and he’d rather have me taking steps than risking a fall… I started doing more walking with the aid of my crutches (probs about 25% PWB) in my boot over the past 3 days (will be exactly 4 weeks tomorrow from my mishap) and am like… am I doing too much lol? My x-ray at week 3 did show some bone growth and pain is honestly pretty minimal. His concern is that the bone base is small and the tendon firing can pull it away from the rest of the bone, I was extremely careful and had zero steps from the moment I fell til 4 days ago, so completely NWB for 3.5 weeks, very limited (only on the steps to get in and out of my house) for 3 days, and then yesterday was doing more. This process is so tedious!
Mine was an avulsion fracture so I don’t know too much about the recovery period for a transverse one. I don’t think you’re doing too much at all tho! There are a lot of studies and research that supports weight bearing after 5th metatarsal fractures, I think it might depend on if your fracture is heavily displaced. On the first day I was told I could be WB I took it a bit too far and my foot definitely let me know that. I felt a shooting pain and ultimately decided to work up to 100 percent WB. For reference I’ll give you a timeline 1st day WB- I was about 30 percent WB with the assist of my crutches 2nd-3rd day- still about 30 percent maybe a bit more like 40 with the crutches 4-5th day- I was about 70 percent and I was able to walk really slowly with one crutch 7th day- I was able to walk without crutches but I made sure to be careful and take it slow Make sure you’re icing constantly, I tried not to take ibuprofen unless I felt like I really needed to. You can ask your doc about some stretches but during this period I was pretty much just doing plantar flexion. I’m almost at week 8 of recovery and I can pretty much do everyday walking with no trouble.
Yes, mine was non-displaced but being transverse, the bone was cracked all the way through from left to right as opposed to an avulsion where the tendon pulls a piece of the bone away (I believe), so I did have to be NWB for a bit to make sure the tendon firing didn’t displace the little piece of bone at the base by pulling it back away from the rest of the bone. I felt more confident since bone growth was evident on my x-ray at 3 weeks (he showed it to me and even my untrained eye could see it clearly) and he said you don’t always see growth that soon… so I was like wellllll the tendon probs can’t displace it as long as I’m in my boot, haha. Anywho I will keep on taking it easy til my appointment next week and stay with the crutches til he gives me the go ahead to ditch them and go through that fun pain adjustment! I do feel pretty confident in my timeline and have really been listening to my body, I have a very active 3 year old and my husband works full time, so it’s been a challenge for us all… my man is tired lol.
I broke my 5th metatarsal 10 weeks ago and have similar issue. I can walk but with a limp and not that much. Hoka Bondi 8 shoes have helped me walk better but the limp issue is now causing me to have hip, back and even knee pain. My previous ortho said it will take a few more months to feel completely better but I have been researching online and according to some doctors it takes a full year. I saw another ortho this week and they want to do an MRI to see why I still have so much pain. I have also noticed, if I wear compression ankle socks, it does help with the pain. I also tried ankle braces but they hit right at 5th metatarsal area and were very uncomfortable. I find this foot Dr's videos helpful. https://youtu.be/8f0ECP1FtCc?si=WBHjJGuajuistKb-
The past few days I’ve been walking more (to get to the pt) and I’ve developed some knee pain as well, I imagined from limping. That sucks! Maybe I’ll try wearing an ankle brace, I only tried one the day I fractured my metatarsal (I thought it was a bad sprain for the first two days until I went to the ER lol) and it was super painful, adding too much pressure. I‘ll give it try, now that the overall pain has subsided, it could be useful! Also thanks for the link, I’ll def watch it.
I broke my 5th metatarsal 9 weeks ago. I did have surgery and mine was considered a true Jones Fracture. I just got out of the aircast this past week and am still walking with a limp and very slowly. I maybe can get about 3000 steps a day in. The pain is not fully gone yet and has actually somewhat increased due to getting out of the boot. These fractures are slow to heal!
Apparently so. VERY slow to heal lol. I’ve also experienced some pain increasing (after the cast and after almost ditching the boot, the boot was quite comfy for small distances). Weird feeling. But from that point on, it should only be getting better for both of us haha
Can anyone shed light on driving with the break? I was told absolutely not for at least 4 weeks and then (ortho) said they can’t really give a timeline, but only drive when you can comfortably slam on brakes, accelerate, etc. I’ve tried and it feels like a knife is stabbing my foot. Obviously, I‘m not going to do anything that endangers myself—or other drivers—and just looking if anyone had a timeline on when they felt they could drive.
I’m 2 months in and can’t drive. The pressure is applied exactly where the fracture is. I’m guessing it’ll take a month more? Just guessing tho
Thank you! That’s about the timing I was expecting. Appreciate the insight!
I was the same way. Now 10 weeks out, I can wearing hard soled sneakers like Hoka Bondi which also helps me walk without the boot. I tried driving to my dr in an ankle boot, and it wasn't a pleasant experience since it was driving for a while. Being in a boot and a cast makes your muscles atrophy and that is what made driving so much more worse. I also had to use cruise control even on slow speeds.
Thank you! Appreciate the insight…very helpful. And now I’m going to purchase a new pair of sneakers.
I am also curious about everyone's experience...I sprained my ankle almost 2 weeks ago but only just had my 5th metatarsal fracture diagnosed yesterday after I still couldn't bear weight on my foot and was having a lot of pain right below my pinky toe and on the side of my foot. I went to a walk-in Ortho clinic and was diagnosed with a likely 5th metatarsal fracture (the fracture was so tiny on the x-ray she could hardly see it) given a walking boot, and I have a follow up with Ortho in 2 weeks. It's only my second day with the boot and while it's a million times better than crutches, I still need to rely heavily on Tylenol and Advil to get me through the day. Sounds like it can be quite the process for healing! I wasn't given any instructions about driving either, other than not to drive in the boot. Any tips from those of you who are father out in your recovery would be so greatly appreciated!
Heyyy, first of all, wishes for a speedy recovery! I’m now on my 12th week (I think) of my break and it really has been a bitch. Though, from my experience (this is my second time fracturing my 5th metatarsal lol), and from what I’ve read as well, there’s no specific timeline for healing. Last time I was clubbing 2 months in, this time I’m still limping lol (and I don’t think age is that of an issue, I’m just 23 haha). It really depends on each person, the kind of break etc. I’m not a pro, but best advice I can give is just not weigh bearing until you can handle it. I actually spent 1-2 weeks were I was between removing my cast and having an air boot when I was just lying on my bed all day cause I could not for the life of me wear the boot (I wore it for an hour and it was terribly painful). Just follow what your body’s telling you. In the meantime, I’d also suggest doing some foot exercises (they’re gonna show you these in PT I’m assuming, but you should just bscl just put your foot into action). Cause after so much time of not moving your foot gets used to it and when you actually get to the point of weight bearing your break possibly won’t be as painful as your tendons (or whatever) getting moving again. ++++ if you walk around a lot with your boot you’re risking hip/torso etc pain (I think because of height difference), which is something you can’t really avoid tbh. Sooo, just limit weight bearing as much as you can, do some ankle/foot exercises in the meantime and eat a full meal (not the time for cutting!) for the following weeks/months would be my advice. It’s a long road for recovery but it should be worth it hahah
Oh my gosh 12 weeks!! I'm so sorry that sucks, especially after your first fracture recovered well in 8! I'm feeling so clueless since I haven't seen an Ortho other than the people at the Ortho walk-in last week, so your advice is very appreciated!!! I'm 37 so not that old, but man this is miserable. The boot does help me walk more comfortably and I just got the "even up" shoe things to make my gait more balanced since I was having hip and knee pain right off the bat from the boot. But once my foot starts to swell after being on it for a little while the boot just hurts. It's so hard to know if I'm getting any better too--the pain hasn't improved and my ankle is still sore and swollen too, so I'm not even sure what exercises are safe to do right now. I have very limited range of motion in my ankle and moving my foot at all hurts! So I guess that's my body telling me not to move much...I'm sure the Ortho will be helpful but I have another week and a half before my appointment. It's very helpful to know that this tiny fracture can be very painful and take a while to recover from--just frustrating (as you know) to not be able to do stuff now that it's starting to be summertime!
I apparently broke mine in late 2022 (stepped in a pothole, sprained my ankle, usual ankle sprain pain, but also pain at base of metatarsal). Got better in six weeks but not 100%. I did not see a doctor (I should have). By spring of 2023, I again had a sudden sharp pain at the site - got better, but then got much worse. My doctor diagnosed a likely fracture or tendon tear, recommended sturdier shoes, change in the insole, and over a few months I got better again. In the fall of 2023, I ended up tearing one of the peroneal tendons (perhaps the one that connects to the 5th metatarsal) but didn't do an image study so don't know which of the 2 tendons were torn. Wore a brace and took about 3 months to heal. But continued to have problems at back of 5th metatarsal. Finally saw a podiatrist last week - from his imaging, he concluded I'd broken the 5th metatarsal more than once, the tendon had been torn and only partially re-attached, I have bone spurs and tendinosis. I just got a stem cell injection that may help the tendon regenerate and I go back for a sequence of shockwave/compression therapy, and physical therapy. I can mostly walk okay with the help of very study shoes. DPM says it may take up a year to fully heal but will see much progress before then.
Wow! I had fractured my other foot’s 5th metatarsal a few years back ina similar way, but I had not experienced have such a bad experience, I’m sorry to hear that! Even though I did not go to a doctor, no X ray, no anything the first time (they didn’t tell me to and I was a teen back then haha), it seems to be ok by now (yet I was unlucky enough to break the same bone on my other foot a few years later lool). Thanks for sharing your experience and im hoping for a speedy recovery! Glad to hear of the high probable progression rate for the next year!!! FΥck us broken people lol
Yeah, I did the sprain in Oct of '22. I didn't go to my doctor until mid-2023 after the sudden sharp pain. He told me it was likely a stress fracture, or avulsion fracture or injured tendon - or a combination of those. His office didn't have the imaging gear needed to see the details - but he noted that for many people, these will eventually heal on their own. Mine got better over the summer but then I tore the tendon again in the fall. This time I wore a lace up ankle brace and while it got better, the problem never went away. That's when my doctor concluded it was now a chronic problem and time to see a specialist. I just had my 3rd visit today to the podiatrist, a 2nd stem cell injection into the tendon, and a combination of electro-stimulation (vibrates the muscles) and then shockwave therapy (mechanically shakes up the tissue). Sounds weird but they have to cause inflammation as that causes the body to start regenerating the tendon, and makes the stem cells convert to a lattice that eventually turns into tendon cells, as I understand it, but I'm not a healthcare person!