may 02 2011 i broke my fifth metatarsal, i was gettin down a step ladder twisted my foot and heard the snap, i went to the hospital and x rayed showed a hairline fracture....i was put in a full cast all the way up to under my knee, i was told to put no weight on it... may 30 i was x rayed again which showed little improvement from what i saw and was put in an aircast (i think it means walking cast) anyhow the doctor said i can walk on the heel of it. he said i can take it off when i shower and if im just relaxing around the house... i tried but it hurt and my foot started to swell, and now i take it off when im in the house and sleeping and sometimes it swells.... IS THIS NORMAL FOR SWELLING AFTER SO LONG? IS A HAIRLINE FRACTURE EASY TO HEAL? IS THERE ANYWAY I CAN SPEED THIS UP OR MAKE THE BONE STRONGER? SHOULD I WEAR THE AIRCAST TO BED?
The fifth metatarsal is an unfortunate spot for a fracture. They tend to take a long time to heal. The best thing to do is to keep it elevated as much as possible, and eat a healthy diet, so your body has fuel for healing.
But the swelling is normal. Bone injuries swell for a long time. It might keep swelling even after your foot feels almost entirely healed, especially if you've been on your feet a lot, or after taking a hot shower.
My son broke his 5th metatarsal when he was 13. He was in an aircast for 6wks and allowed full weight bearing the whole time. After 4 wks he was allowed to take off the aircast to exercise. I don't recall any terrible pain or swelling and he did not sleep of shower with it. Perhaps yours is more severe or else his young age made the difference. I believe that the 5th metatarsal is prone to non union though, but that would have shown on the x-ray I think.
Hi I did the same broke the 5th met, missed the middle step and foot hit the ground, snapped the bone . had a cast on for 8weeks, when the cast came off mri was done and a non-union was found, had surgery one month ago, and the foot is still very sore, use a moonboot when walking with crutches.have been told that at the seven week stage it will be halfway to healing.so at this stage I am looking to be at least another 8 to 10 weeks away from walking unaided.
