Based in the heart of NY, Advance Foot and Ankle Solutions offer the best treatment for fractures occurring within the foot. Look no further when you can have direct access to the globally accredited team of foot and ankle doctors, supervising & managing your foot fracture with intelligence & integrity.
Advance Foot and Ankle Solutions support team is absolutely attentive to your foot fracture issues. Call & book an appointment right away for a properly healed foot.
Foot Fracture: According To Your Foot and Ankle Care Doctor
Fractures within the foot are a common occurrence bearing in mind that it comprises of long, thin bones. The forefoot consists of 14 phalanges divided among 5 toes while the mid-foot includes 5 slender metatarsal bones. All of these function together as a unit when you take stride; a fracture or a fissure here is often painful and cast a serious impact over your overall foot functioning.
Foot Fracture: Causes Leading To It
- Direct trauma by falling or tripping over suddenly and awkwardly
- Jumping or falling from a certain height
- Sudden and extensive twisting of the foot or ankle
- Dropping something bulky over the foot-arch
- Foot trampled or stepped over by another person
- Foot or ankle twisting while landing from a jump or fall, common among athletes & ballet dancers
- Any continuous and repetitive activity involving the foot
Foot Fracture: The Different Types Of It
- Open or closed
- Displaced or non-displaced
- Acute or stress
Whatever the cause may be, a foot fracture needs to be responded to and addressed to almost instantly. The first and foremost steps that can be taken is causing complete immobilization of the injured foot followed by restrictions on activities that require body displacement. Your foot and ankle care surgeon may need to intervene with surgery, depending upon the type and location of the fracture as well the net alignment of the bones and joints surrounding the fractured region. The recuperation time is highly variable among each category of the fracture.
Foot Fracture: The Signs & Symptoms
- Pain usually appears as the foremost sign of any fracture that holds true for the foot as well. However, the degree of painful sensation is directly related to the extent of the breakage that has occurred. Usually the pain is sharp, stinging and intense.
- Limping while walking may be a sure sign of a more serious issue revolving around the possibilities of a fracture. It should be noted that limping often doesn’t initiate as soon as the fracture takes place; you may walk perfectly with the painful condition, dispelling the notion of presence of fracture. Your foot podiatrist should be able to reach a correct diagnosis with respect to your actual foot condition.
- Tenderness may be associated with a foot fracture whereby the surrounding zone of a fracture or its superficial fascia feels soft and tender to touch when pressed slightly. Tenderness occurs due to the slackness produced with the fracture correlated soft tissues and structures.
- Swelling or edema may occur at the site of fracture. This is due to the accumulation of interstitial fluid & leukocytes within the injured area as a direct consequence of a broken bone accompanied by blood loss as well. As a natural response the body’s natural immunity processes are triggered off to cast off any chances of being invaded by an infection.
- Bruising may occur in the more severe cases of bone damage, giving rise to the open type fracture wherein the broken end pierces through the flesh and skin causing a serious skin rupture. This opening may allow the entry of pathogenic bacteria into the wound causing infection in the bone, requiring prompt preventive measures.
- Deformity may be one of the features of a foot fracture occurring as a bone losing its proper orientation and alignment or a joint getting dislocated. This condition is often painful as the affected bone or joint loses its ability to perform routine activities normally. Depending upon the magnitude and locale of deformity, it requires some level of patience and perseverance on the part of the patient as well as the professional acumen of their foot and ankle care specialist to enable speedy, complete recovery.
- Loss of Sensation is a serious indication of a major bone fracture that injures and damages some nerve in its way. A nerve injury would lead to loss of sensation in that particular region or may extend to surrounding area, depending upon the extent of injury. A peripheral nerve injury usually recovers as the fractured bone progresses with the healing process. But, if a major nerve is involved in the injury it might have serious repercussions.
All symptoms need to be precisely & accurately evaluated and diagnosed by your foot and ankle care doctor through thorough consultation and inspection to initiate a potent treatment plan, excluding other nonrelated factors.
Foot Fracture: Treatment By Your Foot And Ankle Care Specialist
The First Aid As First Steps: Whenever a fracture is doubted after an injurious accident or a mishap, it has to be examined by your foot and ankle care doctor at the earliest to prevent it from progressing to chronic foot pain and arthritis which produce hindrance in routine activities. In the course of visiting your foot and ankle care doctor the following listed procedures are a good way of acquiring temporary relief from the acute injurious conditions:
- Massaging the wounded area with ice-pad or ice-pack to help reduce the swelling
- Elevating the foot above the head level to the maximum
- Restricting walking and weight bearing activities
- Wrapping up the foot lightly with soft crape bandage
The Actual Treatment At A Foot And Ankle Care Clinic: Your foot and ankle care surgeon would be able to diagnose and conclude the intensity of the fracture through X-rays, CT Scan, MRI or Ultrasonic Imaging to decide on the precise nature and location of the injury and whether to opt for surgical or nonsurgical procedure. The nonsurgical process follows the below-mentioned line of treatment:
- Foot Elevation: The injured foot has to be kept elevated nearly at all times to reduce blood flow and, thus swelling in the affected foot. During sleep the foot can be cushioned over a soft pillow.
- Partial Or Complete Immobilization: Following an injury the injured foot is better kept completely immobilized or with highly limited foot and ankle movement while your affected area is plastered up in a cast. This allows the damaged bones and/or joints sufficient time to heal up.
- Alterations In Lifestyle: Firstly, the activity that resulted in the injury should be kept at a distance. Any other activity that causes pain or discomfort in the wounded foot should be restricted to dire needs or disbanded altogether temporarily until considerable healing is noticeable. Moving aides such as crutches or a wheelchair may be recommended by you foot and ankle care doctor.
- Rest & Respite: In any type of fracture the natural healing process carries a prime importance. Healing via internal, natural factors takes time and calls for some level of patience at the patient’s end. Prior to resuming the daily routine you should ensure that your fractured foot gets considerable rest and respite to sustain complete healing.
- Physiotherapy: As suggested by your foot and ankle care specialist as a part of your foot and ankle care treatment physiotherapy as a follow-up care is important in the latter stages of healing in order to stave off weakness of the surrounding muscle fascia and to provide strength to the adjacent joints before everyday life is adopted again.
- Analgesic & Anti-inflammatory Drugs: Both the class of drugs may be administered by your foot and ankle care doctor to obtain relief from conditions of pain and inflammation, although care should be exercised in the intake of such medication.
- Foot And Ankle Care Surgery: The most extreme of fracture cases need to be operated on in order that normal life is not thwarted for an extended period. Surgical treatment is usually opted for wherein the affected bone needs realignment or additional external support to complete the healing cycle effectively.
Foot Fracture: Recovery Periods
The complete recovery periods of various foot fractures are quite variable. Foot fractures follow a naturally slow healing process owing to being the most distal part of the human body with poor blood supply.
A bone usually requires 4 to 8 weeks in healing up completely.
Metatarsal fractures up to the 4th one take 6 to 8 weeks to heal whereas a fractured 5th one is a complicated issue that requires considerable time to get healed.