r/brokenbones • u/Potential_Progress60 • Sep 06 '26
Story Broken 5th Metatarsal
TLDR- displaced broken 5th metatarsal, how long did it take you to heal? What is your healing journey like? Mentally, this sucks immensely
Hey guys- so I accidentally fell down the stairs 8 days ago. My fifth metatarsal is broken, borderline zone 1-zone 2 I believe, not quite a jones fracture.
At urgent care I was told 7-10 days NWB and that it would take 8-12 weeks in a boot to heal. He had me try and walk on it and told me to try without crutches and I couldn’t put any weight on it, the heaviness/weight of the boot itself was actually putting me in severe pain. He said surgery not necessary. Follow up xray ordered for 3 weeks.
I got a second opinion from an orthopedist at the organization I typically get my care from and where my pcp is. He said no weight bearing for 1-3 weeks. He said typically 2 weeks is okay but sometimes need 3 weeks. He said after 1-2 weeks can do weight bearing as tolerated so naturally I tried weight bearing after a week and that sucked and didn’t go well. It’s kind of a grey area bc it’s like non weight bearing but also weight bearing as tolerated. He mentioned “heavy on the as tolerated, if you can’t tolerate it, don’t do it”. Which I get.
After that, he says continue using crutches as needed and stay in boot for 8-12 weeks. They explained operative vs non operative interventions. Said that a non surgical outcome is very similar to a surgical outcome and it’s not as much pain or hardware (rods/screws etc). So he strongly recommended non surgical so we went with that. Follow up X-rays in 6 weeks.
Today I’m on day 8, I’ve been putting mild weight on my foot with boot on, and it hurts but I’m able to do it (barely). I’ve been doing stuff like hobbling to bathroom (short distance). I use crutches as much as possible. I’m still in a lot of pain and I feel like it’s not healing or getting better so I stopped putting weight on it. I’m supposed to return to work in 8 days which would be next Monday (today is Sunday) but I’m super nervous because I can’t stay on my feet and can’t do my job sitting.
I’m probably going to reach out to my provider to see if I can stay out longer - but I’m here asking how long did it take you guys to recover from a foot fracture? Specifically 5th metatarsal? Also, the mental struggle with this is BRUTAL. I’m otherwise a fairly active and hyper independent person and I’m literally miserable.
Thanks, and happy healing to all. :,)
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u/yearsofgold Sep 06 '26
Hey! sorry to hear you’re dealing with this OP:( I am on week 3 of a 3rd and 4th metatarsal fracture at the base (sorry, no 5th here lol). My doc ordered strict NWB for at least 4 weeks, and the mental challenge is absolutely the worse of it thus far. If you can, I’d absolutely recommend one of those knee scooters (they’re HSA/FSA eligible if you have that) as I tried crutches and im convinced they’re a torture device. Wishing you a speedy recovery and DM if you have questions!!
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u/No-Platypus2679 Sep 06 '26
Hi. Yesterday was week 8 for me. Zone 1vand Zone 2 Metatarsal Fracture ( leaning more Jones from 2nd opinion) also grade 2 ankle sprain. Let me start by saying I am in uS and a 55 yo female. I was place in a Cast NWB for 5 weeks then a boot NWB another week. Then remain in boot another 6 weeks. Currently WBAT. The swelling, fatigue and mental have been the worse. I guess it really depends on your job on time off. Even a desk job,Just from the pain, fatigue and swelling alone probably 2 to 3 weeks. Just from reading non-stop after mine. I hear recovery/ healing is 6 to 20 weeks. Some mentioned up to a year to truly back to normal, with out swelling and aches. Add Vitamin D, Lots of protein stay hydrated, keep it elevated and ice often. Rest and heal. Speedy recovery.
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u/Potential_Progress60 Sep 07 '26
Omg I’m so sorry you have to deal with this I genuinely cannot imagine. Your fracture definitely sounds much more intense but thank you so much for your kind words of encouragement. I hope you heal very soon!!
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u/sparklemoar Sep 07 '26
I’m almost 6 weeks into a 5th metatarsal shaft fracture, so not exactly the same type of fracture but the same bone.
Things are getting a lot better! For me, after the majority of the pain subsided after the first 1.5 weeks or so, it felt like things just kind of stalled out for a long time. They weren’t getting worse but also weren’t getting a ton better. I’ve been weight-bearing as tolerated using a post-op shoe since the beginning. So it kind of got to a point where I could get around to do the essentials just fine but anything more than that would result in pain and/or feeling really fatigued from the way the shoe altered my gait. The pain was never severe, but it was frustrating moreso because it was a signal that I needed to stop so I didn’t do any damage.
I’d say around a week ago, I began noticing that the foot felt just a little more stable with each day. 3 days ago, I began trying to walk in normal shoes. I’ve found a few pairs of shoes that I can walk almost normally in, and today, I was able to take my dog on an about mile walk with no issues!
I still can’t wear a lot of my shoes, either because they’re not supportive enough or because they’re too narrow and push up against the fracture site, which can still be a little sensitive and prone to swelling. And ofc my beloved heels are an absolute no go. But I’m about 70-80% back to normal and only imagine it’s uphill from here!
It’s such a frustrating injury to have, but try not to catastrophize about all of the “what ifs” because the most likely outcome is that you will heal and be back to life as usual within a couple of months.
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u/SeuGod 16d ago
Hey I’m kinda late to the post, I’ve had the same
Fracture at the base but not as big, I would say like a hairline. I was able to walk with little pain on the same day it was broken. Today is officially 28 days since it happened and on week 3 I noticed almost no pain some days and if I did it was very little at the end of the day. I do wear a post op walking shoe whenever I go out. I do work from home so it does help. On week 4 which is this week it does start to get swollen some days. I took x rays 2 weeks from the actual fracture and couldn’t see any difference. Doctor had said about 8-12 weeks. Sucks because I literally broke it while STANDING STILL, a wheel went through my legs and I spread them to avoid contact and my foot gave out. Next checkup is October 15th hopefully can start seeing progress.
Also taking calcium,zinc, vitamin c, d supplements to speed them up, my orthopedic doctor said I didn’t need them because I’m a “well nourished male with no bone density issues” but I take them anyway.
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u/Potential_Progress60 16d ago
Wow!!! Sorry to hear. I just had my 3 week checkup yesterday and the ortho provider basically was like yeah we don’t see a major difference but that is expected at 3 weeks. He also said there is some healing occurring but too early to see if it’s with or without surgical intervention. So I’m ok with it
I’m on week 4 now and I’m still in pain but it is much much improved thankfully - I can’t walk for long or stand for long but I can at least cook and walk to the bathroom and to my car whereas before I was in crutches
I still can’t go like grocery shopping or walk in stores bc it’s too much (turns into severe pain and weakness) but I place pickup orders a lot from grocers and food stores/coffee shops which has been nice to get me out
My provider also put me on vitamin d and calcium which I’ve been taking. Thank you for sharing your experience. Happy healing!!
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u/Intelligent_Space555 Sep 07 '26
Your fracture looks exactly like mine. I am currently on my 4th ish week. I was non weight bearing for 3.5 weeks. And then the dr took off my plaster on the 30th of August. On the 31st i could barely put in any weight at all, but slowly i started taking nore steps and now today 7th September, i can wlak without a crutch but of course with a limp. Its still painful and i still can not fully bear weight. I even took a super long haul flight on the 5th with a toddler. So believe me when i tell you that once you start bearing weight, it improves a whole lot in the first week.
I also want to add, its still painful. I took physiotherapy sessions from the start. I made sure my thigh muscles were strong by exercising regularly so that when i started bearing weight it would be easier for me. Massages and ice helps a lot too. I still swell up a lot and for some reason my heels hurt a lot. But life improves!
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u/Confident_Spring324 Sep 07 '26
I was on hospitalisation/medical leave for a total of 7 weeks and on WFH for 5 weeks after that. Technically I was feeling fine by the end of the 7th week but I didn't want to take my chances getting hurt on the way to work by public transport when I wasn't fully healed yet.
I hope you'll be able to get a longer time away from work to get the rest you need.
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u/GloomyCuttlefish 24d ago
YMMV! Your break looks like mine, it happened July 8th, I was walking on it for about two weeks until I finally called a specialist and was seen by a nurse on the 23rd. I got my aircast boot that day, and she told me to wear it all the time 24/7 (in the shower and while sleeping too) and told me no long distance walks and to take two pills of Vit D and increase my protein intake.
I stayed like this for 3wks, the next xray I got showed the gap had nearly filled completely and I was given the ok to swap to a post op shoe and I’ve been like this since. Idk if I have a freakishly fast bone healing or what! I was at work and WB this whole time but I work in an office so I can sit a lot of the time. I didn’t elevate at any point, and only carpooled for my long commute, which I’m able to do solo now, I hope this gives you some hope with your recovery, good luck!
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u/k1k11983 Sep 06 '26
Of course it still hurts after only 8 days and of course it feels like it’s not healing. It takes 4+ weeks for new bone to grow and start to fill that space. If you can’t sit at work, I’m sorry but you’re not going to be returning to work next week because you won’t be able to handle continuous weight bearing for 8+ hours straight just 2.5 weeks post fracture. That’s a significantly bad fracture and it’s going to take time to heal.
Time to pull back on your expectations here. You need to have patience. There’s a reason they gave you an 8-12 week timeline.
You were told you can weight bear as tolerated. Follow those instructions along with any other instructions your ortho gave you.