My stress fracture isn't healing

[Laura-R]

I fractured my second metatarsal in April, the hospital diagnosed it as a fracture, but because it's hard to see a stress fracture on an x-ray until around 2 weeks into the injury, they told me to go to my hospital at home and get properly treated. I done this and had another x-ray etc and was told I had simply sprained my foot and to walk on it!

Not happy with this, I went to another hospital and there was confusion to what I had done. I was then badly treated with physio convincing me it was a soft tissue injury and therefore had the wrong physiotherapy. In July the hospital finally told me that it had been a really bad fracture, but because they thought they had found another injury, they didn't want to treat the fracture until they knew what the other injury was. Turns out it was nothing. It is now 6 months later and I still feel I am no where near being healed. I need to be back dancing asap! Why is a simple fracture taking so long!?

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well my friend,
Definately ur case is complicated as till todays second u don't have sure diagnosis,any way just asking u few quest 1 How u had injury,U must have felt at what time u had injured urself? 2 can u b able to put ur feet on ground or still limping if limping howz ur foot placement on ground for eg. walking on toe or heel? 3 Is ur part is swollen? 4 How is the movement do u have ?

[Laura-R]

I'm a really competitive Irish dancer, and was training for the World championships, I had pain for a couple of months leading up, but thought it would be inevitable to have ache's and pains with so much training. I done it on the day I danced! I was on crutches for around a week and a half and then second hospital told me to weight bare.

I had been walking on it and basically getting used to the pain. I was limping for around 3-4 weeks and and then managed to walk properly, heel to toe, relatively normal. I was referred to physio...bearing in mind the third Doctor thought it was a fracture, and then the physio didn't! When I told the physio it just wasn't getting better, he done this thing 'to loosen all the soft tissue' as if it was a knot, this caused a lot of pain and I'm presuming he done more damage and set me back in healing time. After that he told me to have more scans, which then in July told me that it had been a very bad fracture, and the whole of the bone and crumbled or something. I am walking perfectly normal, with the occasional day where I can not, but still with some pain. I have days where I have no pain and feels as though I can dance and others where it is painful to walk. I also have pain when dropping my arch and trying to raise on to my toes. Also, when I had all my scans in July the doctor said that he can just see signs of the bone fusing and should start to be getting better, three months on and it doesn't feel it, and no, there was swelling when I done it for about 5 days but nothing since.

[kesho88]

from what you said fissure fracture must rest for it when it happens to prevent any complication would occur so you dance on it while it was healing this put stresses again on fracture site and delay healing so what you need according to the last x ray that there are some signs of healing like callus and shadows reveal that begin to heal so you must offload your foot and try to rest till clinical union occur after that begin weight bear as tolerated and apply ice and elevation to decrease pain and any swelling will occur after the union you must do rehabilitatiob program to regain balance and correct any biomechanical deformities that cause the problem to be able to go on dance

be patient for it i have info. for you when a football player had that fracture he rest from playing by 3 monthes to confirm good healing and good rehabilitation

[Dr Damien]

metartasal fractures (and perhaps fractures of the bones of the foot in general) can take ages to heal. Primary reason recurrent loading delaying fracture healing...

you need to have a gait assessment done as already advised, you need to rest that foot and consider perhaps some form of PWB to avoid excessive loading, so a walking aid for a few weeks is needed. Cryotherapy is advisable (if RSD is not a feature), get the advise of a physio on how to use safely.

perhaps a review by an orthopeadic surgeon is needed to advise on an ortho boot if necessary so you can be functional in ur mobility without causing additional damage.

Do not expect to start dancing soon, if you have had a stress fracture (and I presume its a secondary effect of your dance maneovres), its likely gonna get worse with dancing and other bones in your feet might be predisposed as well. Dont make things worse

Also speak to ur GP, to have your blood work done to see if you have the adequate calcium levels. You might need ca supplements to help keep ur bones and aid fracture healing.

One complication to watch out for is RSD, reflex sympathetic dystrophy, a feeling of longer lasting pain than usual due to autonomic changes after trauma. This can occur even when there are no significant injuries to explain the pain.

My advise is be patient, speak to the right professionals and work with your physio as the fracture heals to optimise the possibility of you returning to dancing.