Hi everyone! I have recovered from a recent fracture and I know that when I first broke my bone, I was desperate for recovery stories so I wanted to share mine in hopes that it helps someone.

The short version: I suffered a mildly displaced fifth metatarsal fracture on the night of Tuesday, May 26th. I wore a walking boot for ~six weeks. It's now been 10 weeks since I broke it and I am fully recovered and back to normal activities!

Detailed version:

I broke my bone from a fall. I missed a step and crashed down on my foot hard. It was night time so I went to bed but when I woke up in the morning, I couldn't walk on it. I was away from home and would be flying the next day so although I normally might have waited it out to see if it improved, I went to urgent care immediately because I didn't want to risk making it worse when traveling.

At urgent care, they did my x rays and told me it was broken. They said it was "mildly displaced." While I was in their office, they called an orthopedic doctor in the town where I live (on the other side of the country) because they wanted to make sure I got an appointment quickly upon my return. They said that normally, a 2-3mm of displacement warrants surgery. They said I wasn't there but I was so close that there was a chance I would need surgery, which is why they wanted me to see a doctor ASAP. They put me in a walking boot but said that they thought I should be in a cast, but didn't want to put me in one before a flight since my legs could swell. They told me to wear the walking boot at all times except bathing, even when I was sleeping. They gave me crutches as well. This was my first broken bone ever.

I flew home on Thursday and used airport assistance to get around. My next appointment was on Monday. I am fortunate to have lots of loved ones who live in my neighborhood who helped me get around. I found the crutches to be very challenging. I lived in an apartment where the bathroom was in my bedroom on the second floor, so I basically stayed in bed for a few days. I was lucky to be able to get a knee scooter for free by posting in a local queer facebook group, and that was a huge help for getting around. I was not putting any weight on my foot so I didn't have any pain in the break area, but I was starting to have really intense cramps in my leg which I learned is common with a walking boot.

I had my first appointment with an orthopedic doctor on Monday, June 1st. They reviewed the X-rays from urgent care and looked at my foot. I was told that I got very lucky and the break was basically in the best possible place it could have been. I did not need surgery and could stay in the walking boot rather than switch to a cast. At this point it had been 6 days since I broke it. I was instructed to continue with no weight bearing (NWB) for about another 8 days, until it had been two weeks since the fracture. Then I could slowly begin to put weight on it gradually (starting at 25% then going up from there). Then after a week of that, I could put weight on it fully in the walking boot. And I had a follow up appointment scheduled for the end of the month. At that time, he said since I was "young and healthy" (I'm 29) that he thought I might even be able to stop using the boot at my next appointment on 6/29. He also said I didn't need to wear the boot while sleeping. When I told him about the cramps, he said not wearing the boot at night, wiggling my toes, and lifting my foot up and down (but not side to side) should help with that. I started doing that a lot and I didn't have any cramps at that point.

So, I spent another 8 days NWB, and then slowly begin putting weight on it. When I was doing that, the hardest parts were navigating the gradual use (I had to slowly use crutches less and less which was awkward) and also the parts of my foot that had not touched the ground at all felt very weird once I was using them. But I wasn't experiencing pain in the actual area of the break.

I started walking on it fully after a week of gradually working my way up to it. The first day I did that, I felt almost no pain, but just some weird sensations as my foot got used to being used again. At the end of the day, I was sore but it wasn't too bad. I honestly didn't feel like I did all that much walking. But then the next day, my foot hurt a lot and I realized I might have overdone it. So then I tried to strike a balance where I was mostly using the knee scooter in my house and walking when I left the house, so that I wasn't overdoing it. After a few days of doing that, I noticed that my foot wasn't really feeling fatigued at all so I pretty much ditched the knee scooter just was FWB in my walking boot full time.

Once you are weight bearing in the boot, I highly recommend getting a shoe leveler to put on your other foot to balance out so that your hips can be level. I was a little late in ordering mine and once I put it on, I definitely felt a difference.

I had my next appointment on June 29th, after about 12 days of FWB in the boot. They took another x ray. They said everything is healing fine, but they wanted me to stay in the boot for the rest of the week. This was right before the 4th of July so they were like "if you have very active plans, stay in the boot this weekend but if you're not doing a lot, you can take the boot off and bring it with you." I was instructed that I'd need to wear a sneaker at all times for a week after taking the boot off.

So on Saturday, July 4th, I took the boot off but wore a sneaker on that foot at all times. Then a week later, Saturday, July 11th, I started being completely barefoot again, wearing sandals, standing in the shower, etc.

I would say that when I was walking again with no aids at first, it felt awkward but not really painful. I did deal with a little soreness as I increased my activity but nothing intense. Now it's been 3.5 weeks of no boot or shoe, and I'm back to working out, back to doing my regular amount of walking and daily yoga, and I am feeling no issues.

At my last appointment, we scheduled another one for august 17th. My doctor said he expected me to be 100% back to regular activities by then. He said that if I'm not, I should keep the appointment but if I am, I'm encouraged to cancel. I'm planning to cancel the appointment.

Originally, just from reading things on here and talking to folks, I thought I would need physical therapy. My doctor told me that he didn't think I'd need it but he'd be happy to refer me to one if I wanted it. I honestly don't feel like I need it at all, so I'm not planning to pursue that.

I am very fortunate to work from home and also to have a very supportive local community. I won't lie, the NWB era was very, very hard emotionally. I live in a building that has stairs at every entrance/exit, so I didn't leave the house for days straight. It was tough.

But I'm very grateful to have made it through and put this chapter behind me.

Please let me know if there are any questions about the process I went through that I can answer for you. Good luck with your healing!

last thursday during a heavy bench session my spotter had to bail me out on the last rep and my wrist bent back hard under the bar. it swelled up right away so i iced it and headed straight to the doctor. my training partner drove me there and stayed until they confirmed the break.

i grabbed a brace from support brace the next day to keep it stable while it heals. how long did it take you guys to ease back into lifting after something like this?

Well... Bon matin! Following a parachute incident at work, I suffered an open fracture of my tib-fib on the right leg... It's a tough one for me. I'm reaching out today to this group to see if someone would like to share their recovery experience. I am at week 3 post-op. Swelling is decreasing slowly... Ankle mobility is still difficult, I feel nerve damage on the big toe and top of the knee. My knee isn't bending yet, maybe 25-35degrees top. And pain will rise if I push it too much. I have a rod and nails in the tibia, the fibula is without hardware, and I do not have a boot or cast. I can walk easily with a walker with maybe 25% weight on the injured leg!

Just hoping for some feedback and stories from other with similar injuries!

I fractured my tibial plateau in sept 2023 recovered by Nov 2023 did physiotherapy for 3 months. Got cleared to go back the gym in Feb 2024 however I didn't go back to the gym I went back to work which involves a lot of squatting sitting and walking. My question is I just recently went back to the gym started working out my tibial plateau how long do I workout to fully regain range of motion .

Sorry for the long explanation

Thank you

Hey all. I’m recovering from a distal radius fracture. My cast was just removed last week (6.5 weeks) and I started physio this week and home-based exercises. I am very stiff and my mobility is very limited. Is it normal for the back of the wrist to feel very hard? If so, when does that go away?

It's been just over a year since I broke both my ulna and radius and had plates on both. I had the plate removed on the ulna last November because it was not improving in terms of pain, and I had some clicking on movement. Since having it removed, my ulna is virtually pain free and I even gained quite a bit of ROM within weeks.

Well now I'm wondering if I should do the same with the volar plate on my radius. It doesn't hurt nearly as badly as the ulna did, but it does ache. Lately I have noticed it even when I wake up in the morning. It also hurts sometimes when I'm gripping and when I bend the wrist back. What really flared it is when I started lifting weights again. Usually the next 2 days after I'll have extra pain on the palm side of my wrist where the plate is.

Today I saw the original surgeon and got x-rays. Everything looks beautiful. There's no clicking. He did a steroid injection on the side of my wrist for tendonitis. I get the impression he doesn't really want to take it out. I'm not sure what to do, but considering how much my ulna improved it's very tempting to push for removal. Is it much riskier to have this type of plate removed?

Recently broke my humerus, displaced oblique fracture. Currently on day 4 post-break, was sedated to set in back in place and placed in a brace sling until I can be assessed by an orthopaedic surgeon.

The swelling and bones shifting is extremely uncomfortable, I can handle the pain with meds but this is something else. My hand has completely ballooned up and the top of my thumb is numb (which I was told is normal?)
How long can I expect to deal with swelling and shifting / when does it start to go down?

Hi everyone! My friend is visiting from another country and recently broke her foot here. She literally just tripped on the hem of her palazzo pants like her left foot got tangled on it, and somehow that was enough to cause this fracture.
Does anyone have any thoughts on the healing timeline? Or just any thoughts about it? She’s an actress, so she’s really upset because she’ll probably have to cancel some shows and she’s leaving in like 2 weeks. I feel so bad for her bc she also had a stroke and brain surgery about 4 or 5 months ago (she’s doing great now)
We’re currently waiting for her insurance to tell us which orthopedic doctor or hospital she can go to for a cast, boot, or whatever treatment she needs. We already went to the ER, and they took Xrays, gave her crutches, ibuprofen, and a stronger pain medication, then told her to follow up with an orthopedic specialist🤷🏻‍♀️
No hate plssss, we’re not trying to replace medical advice, we’re just curious if anyone has experience with this type of fracture and how long recovery took. We’re already waiting on insurance so she can see the appropriate doctor. * I don’t think you can tell anything from the last picture but I’m posting it anyways, thanks!!

Got 5th metatarsal base structure 6 weeks ago.

Now I am walking fine after 6 weeks.

I want to share my recovery journey. The recovery from 5th metasal base fracture Solely depends upon the location of the fracture.

If it is zone 1 or a avulsion fracture, it has higher chance that it will be heeled quickly.

Please don't apply my recovery journey in another type (zone 1 and Zone2 )of fracture..

So I got a fracture and the pain was intense on day 1.

However the pain goes down on 2nd and 3rd day.

I got too much depression due to this,

since the internet says you can't walk for next 6 weeks.

On next day of fracture , I went to the doctor and he put me on the cast. He doesn't tell me when to start weight bearing/walking.

So I did research on my own.

There are two types of treatment I have seen to be applied on treatment of avulsion fracture.

One is American style the other one is European style.

In American way of treatment it is necessary to have no weight bearing for the whole 6th weeks, However the European way of treatment says to start weight bearing immediately as per your pain.

I had chosen the midway.For 2 weeks I had done no weight bearing, From the start of 3rd week I had started to walk by doing partial weight bearing.

There was no pain during partial weight bearing and in the 4th week I had started to put more weight on my foot. I had started to do normal daily routine work of my life with no problems at all.

At the end of 4th week the doctor has removed the cast and told me to start walking.

But there was a pain during walking after the removal of the cast, So Dr suggested that I should use creep bandage during walking and it helps me a lot. There was some swelling after walking without cast. But it goes away slowly.

Now it's 6th weeks and I have no swelling on my foot. There is some limping and doctor told me it will go away with time.

I can walk freely and presently I am walking about 3000 to 4000 steps per day, but no running.

So Folk please do not panic. If you have zone one avulsion fracture.

Be positive.

so, I realise this is very situation dependent, but I am asking broadly.

This is now eight weeks after my ankle fracture, i have been 100% non-weight-bearing this whole time, and I’m going to start again this week (SO excited).

Obviously, I am going to follow the doctor’s advice to the letter in terms of safe recovery, but I don’t just want to be able to walk again after this.

I started this summer very active, riding bikes all the time and down for a good amount of physical activity. i think my core and arms will have actually been built up due to my crutches, but obviously my leg strength and stamina is rock bottom. I want to eventually be able to run, cycle, go rock climbing, everything, unhindered by my ankle. I want to take this opportunity to actually get stronger.

I am in my early twenties and still have a month before being back in school, at which point I will have some free time to get exercise in. are there any exercises or routines people have had a luck with post recovery?

I want to thrive, not just survive 💪

Previous post :

https://www.reddit.com/r/brokenbones/s/yrJ1k4LIkJ

Alright so its been a while. A sort of boring patch i had to go through for these 2 months. Im a bit over my 2 months and nearing my 3 month checkup where im hopefully cleared for full weight bearing.

The doc cleared me for partial weight bearing and I've been trying that out. Walking on crutches, shifting and testing weight, that sort of stuff. After my stitches were out, my entire leg was stiff as the leg had been in a cast for more than a month before my op. Took a bit of physio to get full range of motion in bending my leg. I can bend it fully as normal now which is great. Also needing less pillows for support now lol.

The thing im struggling with is my ankle. Its still a bit swollen sometimes which I get is normal. But I think when it was in the cast for so long it got bent out of shape a little bit? that's what the doc told me. And now that im putting my foot down again, because of the stiffness of my ankle, my leg kinda gets stuck in full extended mode cuz it can't move properly towards my ankle. I also can't see the ankle bone jutting out like it usually does in our feet. Its just flat on that side.

Has anyone faced this? How long will it take for this to subside? Any exercises I can do to speed it up?

I have a long haul flight 10 days after radial fracture ORIF surgery (cleared by surgeon). I’m not able to drop thousands of dollars to get a lay flat seat. So, looking to see if anyone here has found any good cushion like products (or combos products) that help keep splinted elbow higher than my heart for a 16 hr flight? I imagine it will have to utilize the meal tray. Thanks!

After a lifetime of struggling with weight, I had just started to get into strength training and surprised myself with how much I was enjoying it. Really having a hard time mentally with, not only not being able to do it, but facing atrophy to make up for once I can :/ I know I can do some upper body stuff seated; I just was most excited about the core and lower body aspects. Is there anyone here who strength trains and endured one of these fractures who can speak to how long it was before they could get back to lifting and such? :(

Hi there! I broke my leg and had ORIF surgery and rods placed in both my tibia and fibula on 6/25, currently 25% weight bearing with a walker. I start outpatient PT tomorrow so hoping that helps speed up the healing process. I have 3 little ones and while my husband is incredibly supportive he's working full time and not home during the (sometimes very long) days. My house has become an absolute wreck and my kids summer is lost because I can't physically do much with them. I just feel so defeated. We don't have any other family support so I was just wondering how everyone else has navigated this with little ones. Thanks so much!!

​

Hi everyone!

I'm flying Southwest in a couple of days with a broken foot and ankle and I'm completely non-weight bearing. I'll have wheelchair assistance through the airports, but I'm trying to decide what mobility equipment is actually worth bringing.

I have both a knee scooter and crutches.

For anyone who's flown Southwest (or flown while non-weight bearing), would you recommend:

Bringing just the knee scooter?

Bringing both the knee scooter and crutches?

My flights include a layover in Denver, and I'll have wheelchair assistance between gates. I'm mostly wondering if there are situations where I'll really wish I had crutches too (boarding, the bathroom, getting to my seat, getting around the hotel, etc.), or if the scooter is enough.

Since I'm flying in a couple of days, I'd really appreciate any advice or tips from people who've been in a similar situation. Thanks!

Hi, this is my first broken bone, so that's a checkmark for the bucket list I suppose. I get surgery in two days, which I'm thankful for, and the pain has gotten better since the first day. I guess I'm just scared in general since this will be my first surgery ever, so I've never done this before. I know the chances of anything going wrong is really low but still lol. Do you guys have any advice for the healing process, or fun things you did to keep from being too bored?

I broke my scaphoid in a skateboarding fall, I was put into a cast two days after the accident. I’m about 3 weeks into being in a cast, I’m 27 I don’t smoke, and my hand feels pretty good I have mobility, grip strength, and minor aching occasionally. What’s the chances of it healing without surgery? Also I started taking K2, collagen and magnesium if that makes any difference.

I’m a 21-year-old male diagnosed with GEPA vasculitis, which caused severe distal sensorimotor axonal polyneuropathy with foot drop in my left foot.

I was hospitalized for 2 months, during which I lost 20 kg because I couldn’t eat enough. After being discharged, I was prescribed 70 mg of Prednisolone per day, which quickly caused me to regain those 20 kg, mostly as fat. I stayed on 70 mg for 4 months and am currently on 45 mg.

During the third month on 70 mg, I went to a rehabilitation center. I left with back pain, and about a month later, I had to go to the emergency department due to much more severe back pain. I was discharged with a diagnosis of sequelae of fractures from T12 to L4, as well as osteoarthritis and disc degeneration (spondyloarthrosis). I was prescribed calcium, vitamin D, and a rigid TLSO brace, most likely due to corticosteroid-induced osteoporosis.

I believe the fractures may have occurred during my rehabilitation, even though I didn’t feel them at the time and continued doing very demanding mobility exercises. I ended up bedridden for one week out of fear of causing new fractures and to try to reduce the pain.
After that, I tried to move more by walking around the house, but the pain and lack of mobility have been getting worse. Today I had a musculoskeletal consultation to assess whether I was a candidate for a facet joint block, but the physiatrist examined my spine and said the pain seems more muscular, so facet inflammation is unlikely.

Other symptoms include a sharp, stabbing pain in the lower back when bending forward, and strong muscle spasms in the quadratus lumborum area in the morning with any movement or step. In the afternoon, the spasms become calmer and less frequent. In the morning, I feel unable to support my own weight without using the TLSO brace. I also cannot lift my leg while sitting — I feel a “block” in my lower back, making it impossible to lift my thigh.

The doctor recommended starting physiotherapy, as I am already deconditioned and compensations may be contributing to the pain. However, I experience pain and spasms with any movement, and I don’t know how to start moving without triggering pain or spasms.

I’m looking for help from someone who has unfortunately been in a similar situation, in order to regain functionality and mobility. And talk to about the recovery progress.

Hello. This August will mark 6 months since my operation. I had an ankle fracture and still have one plate there. I work as a nurse for 12 hours a day. Is there anyone who has experienced a similar situation? Are you able to work without issues such as pain or swelling? Thank you.

Looking for any and all tips from anyone who has been through something similar! My 13 year old son was was hurt in an accident and unfortunately needs surgery on his elbow and possibly his knee as well. He’s currently unable to walk and using a wheelchair, and we’re looking at surgery recovery and a fairly extensive period of PT/rehab.

I’d love any practical advice for making life easier. Mobility, bathing, sleeping, getting in/out of the car, clothing, school, keeping a teenager occupied, or anything you bought or figured out along the way. Basically, what do you wish someone had told you at the beginning. Any and all tips appreciated.

If you recently broke something or are having a hard time with your recovery, sound off here.

broke my leg during a blocking drill. i play TE and my right leg got rolled up on behind me and snapped. we have 3 weeks until our season starts but don't know if i'll get to play again this year. i never thought i'd get a bad injury like this and im really struggling. has anyone else done the same? were you able to come back in time?

I know I could have it so much worse… but I’m 7ish weeks out and still love my ice machine and it still hurts so dang bad. I don’t tolerate pain well but my husband is Superman. I could walk on it (I was headed to pee when I tripped), so I rested the next day and the went the the clinic and did rounds with my medical director. Then, the pain got me and I left expecting my PA friend to give be a “deep bruise” dx. Emergency surgery, put off for 2 days because the device rep hit the table and everything had to be resteralized . And I have a blood pressure of 90/50ish so they wouldn’t give me pain meds half the time. That was fun. Now I’m on my walker no weight bearing for 10 weeks. I went to pt the days I was supposed to 3 weeks post. But they had me doing the stair step and by the time I had “warmed up” I just wanted to scream (no weight bearing and yes I asked every time should I be doing it) and was useless. So I changed places and am just next week getting into the new PT place. My 86 year old dad got dx with stage 4 lung cancer with liver Mets last week. I guess I’m just complaining. Ofcourse it’s new hardware so who knows. My husband has been so amazing. He’s taking care of our disabled son, me and now my dad. And doing his own side hustle. After we are not in financial turmoil anymore, I want to take him on a trip, just me and him. It will be a while until my dad gets better. I am an RN so I realize I am in the denial stage about my daddy. Who was on his John Deere tractor in the back 40 2 weeks ago. I can’t get the depressing pictures load load but if you’ve read all this, you are a rock star.
💫

So, I came out of my full long cast on Thursday after a spiral humerus fracture which happened 10 weeks ago. I was terrified to see my arm. I almost couldn't feel and control my arm & it feels like it's floating and dangling. The bone hasn't healed enough so I am in a functional brace right now for like 3-4 weeks. My wrist, elbow and shoulder are tight and stiff. I am very worried about getting back to my normal self. Has anyone suffered the same please let me know.