Stress fracture in foot anyone?
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lporter229
Posts: 4,907 Member
Has anyone been diagnosed with a stress fracture in the foot? That is the diagnosis (2nd metatarsal) I got from an orthopedic surgeon today and she wants to put me in a cast for 6 weeks. The only thing is, it was not confirmed by x-ray. She said often they are internal or hairline and unless the crack is evident, it can't be detected by x-ray. She is basing her diagnosis on my x-ray showing chronic wear of that bone, the type of pain I am having and her visual exam. That coupled with the fact that I have been on prednisone a lot and am currently on a pretty high dose. I am opting to have an MRI done to confirm.
If you have any experience with this, I have some questions.
How often does a MRI reveal a stress fracture that can not be seen by x-ray? Did you have a full blown cast or just a walking boot? How long did it take to heal and how long were you unable to run? Any lingering long term effects?
If you have any experience with this, I have some questions.
How often does a MRI reveal a stress fracture that can not be seen by x-ray? Did you have a full blown cast or just a walking boot? How long did it take to heal and how long were you unable to run? Any lingering long term effects?
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Not sure about your exact situation, but last year when there was a possible stress fracture in my heel due to landing wrong (acute injury, not chronic), I was told that a fresh hairline fracture may not show up on an x-ray right away and that I needed to come back in 10 days for another because they become visible on the x-ray once they start to heal. Is that a possible option if you don't want the MRI?
Sorry, no advice on the MRI or cast. I hope you foot feels better soon.0 -
I heard this as well, that they are more likely to show up after time. My foot started hurting last Tuesday. I ran on Tues, Wed and Thurs before I decided that it was too painful to run and I should have it looked at. Since then it is showing all of the symptoms exactly as described for a stress fracture, such as the pain is becoming more pinpoint and less wide spread and that it hurts more when just walking. My doctor did not mention waiting a few days as an option. But I think I am going to go ahead with the MRI because my insurance will cover it.
Thanks for the reply!0 -
Anyone else?0
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Just had my left foot xrayed a couple of weeks ago after taking a rather nasty fall running on a very dark morning at 4 a.m. Doctor was worried that a lump was either a fracture or bone displacement.....turns out it is arthritis so there is nothing to be done about it. On the other hand I have broken the same ankle twice, once relatively minor and once a major break requiring surgery and hardware. I have also had a stress fracture in the past. Almost all bone related healing takes a minimum of 6 to 8 weeks. With a stress fracture you can usually get away with using just a walking shoe or boot. Not quite sure why the ortho would want to cast you but I can guarantee that if you are casted for 8 weeks you will have some muscle attrophy which will require more work to rebuild before you are back out running. After 12 weeks in a cast it looked as if I had lost half the muscle mass in my left leg; took another 12 weeks in a knee high walking boot and 3 day a week PT just to get back to being able to walk. Best of luck and a quick recovery!0
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Any idea on why I would need a cast? From what I read, many times they just put you in a boot. Feeling a bit like maybe the Dr just wants the $. Unless it could possibly be because I am on prednisone and will be probably for the duration of the healing.0
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So this is highly un-medical, but I was in the same situation last fall...stress fracture in 4th meta and had an xray that was inconclusive as has been mentioned - hard to see.
I was seeing a physio about something else and mentioned it to him. He came back with a tuning fork; like the ones you stroke and they vibrate to give you like a "C" or something. So he struck the tuning fork and put it on my fifth meta where I thought the break would be and felt nothing. Then he struck it again and put it on the 4th and it hurt sharply. He said that the vibrations get into the bone and if there are tiny fracture (s) the vibration will cause pain in the gap. So he was pretty sure I had a stress fracture there and we treated it with some rest, ice etc. and I was good after a few weeks. So, I stress that this was ME and my problem may be different, and that the tuning fork method is not conclusive, but it worked for me! Hope it helps.
Thanks.0 -
That's really interesting about the tuning fork. I had my MRI on Tuesday and I am just waiting for results. So you were put on rest, ice, etc, only? Still wondering about the cast. I think I will have to discuss this further with the ortho if the results come back positive. How did you recover when you started running again? Did you scale back your mileage significantly? Have you had any problems since?0
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When I had my ankle surgery after the second massive break the ortho put a plate and 8 screws running up the outside of my ankle over the top of the fibula even though he was unable to break my fibula away from my tibia. When I asked my doctor about this his opinion was that the ortho was just being overly careful. Of course that care led to a second surgery to remove the plate and screws.....but that was the beginning of my journey, which in turn led to my love for running, so maybe all was for the best. Perhaps your ortho is being overly careful as well with the cast. Everyone I know that has had a stress fracture has been placed in a walking boot or shoe depending on severity.....0
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That's really interesting about the tuning fork. I had my MRI on Tuesday and I am just waiting for results. So you were put on rest, ice, etc, only? Still wondering about the cast. I think I will have to discuss this further with the ortho if the results come back positive. How did you recover when you started running again? Did you scale back your mileage significantly? Have you had any problems since?
You are lucky - in the great Canadian social medicare system - It will be a year before I could get an MRI - but if you have a blister and go to emergency you can see a doctor right away. (Sorry I digress). Since you have an MRI at your disposal, for sure take that over a tuning fork any day, but the technique - I think - works. I would start running very short runs and see how it felt during and after. I did scale back...but it happened shortly after a Half so it was ok in my schedule to do so. Then yes, just listened to the pain, iced a lot, ran trails a lot as it was softer terrain. No problems since.0 -
Thanks for all of your replies. Just got my MRI results and they were negative. They just showed inflammation in my bones. Sure glad I had that MRI since doc wanted to put me in a cast, apparently for no reason. I am just resting it, icing and hope to be back running shortly. Again, thanks for all of your help!0
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I have had three stress fractures...and none of them showed up in either an MRI or X-ray until about 10 days into it healing. The thing with stress fractures is that if it is a stress fracture, and it doesn't heal right it can become a chronic problem.
I developed my stress fractures in boot camp...two in the toes and one in the heel bone. I became too hasty to get out of there and kind of lied to the doctors. They wouldn't let me leave until I had no pain or tenderness in the area...well...I had tenderness but no pain. A month and a half later I was back at the doctor's getting a new set of MRIs and X-rays and back into the walking boot for another 6 weeks because I was hasty.
IF it is a stress fracture then you need to take it seriously and keep a very close eye on it.0 -
I have had three stress fractures...and none of them showed up in either an MRI or X-ray until about 10 days into it healing. The thing with stress fractures is that if it is a stress fracture, and it doesn't heal right it can become a chronic problem.
I developed my stress fractures in boot camp...two in the toes and one in the heel bone. I became too hasty to get out of there and kind of lied to the doctors. They wouldn't let me leave until I had no pain or tenderness in the area...well...I had tenderness but no pain. A month and a half later I was back at the doctor's getting a new set of MRIs and X-rays and back into the walking boot for another 6 weeks because I was hasty.
IF it is a stress fracture then you need to take it seriously and keep a very close eye on it.
Thanks for this info...I will take that to heart.
She said the MRI showed inflammation in my bones. Would that be the reason a stress fracture would not be visible, maybe?0 -
With stress fractures, the only thing that shows up is new bone. That is how the tell if it is a stress fracture or not. New bone will be a much brighter white than the rest of the area. With bone inflammation, it could be a stress fracture or it could the beginings of one. When you went to the doctors, did they use a vibration test on you? That is pretty much the best indicator on if you have a stress fracture. They will take a rod that they will hit with their hand and cause it to vibrate. Then they will press that to the area where they believe the fracture is. If you react with wanting to kick them in the face because the pain is unbareable...then it more than likely is a stress fracture.0
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My sister got a stress fracture in her foot around mid-January. Wore a boot till about end of February. She's currently easing herself back into running.0
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...tuning fork...im telling you...it works.0
