NWbrandon Posted October 15, 2009 Posted October 15, 2009 (edited) About 5 weeks ago I found myself on the unfortunate end of a fracture of the 5th metatarsal in my left foot (running accident) and I've taken to our forums here with even more lust while on the couch with a beer in hand . Foot elevated of course. As the winter gear I had on order before this "issue" came about gets dropped off by the UPS guy and I find myself with 4 more weeks of zero weight on this foot, I thought I would ask the question to the group.... “What could I expect to experience in regards to recovery, from the point of view of a budding alpine climber?” Has anyone out there dealt with this same fate? Right now the only joy of my previous life in the outdoors would be the pack on my back to carry the beer from the store since my lame arse is stuck in these crutches. Any words of encouragement out there? Edited October 15, 2009 by NWbrandon Quote
MtnHigh Posted October 15, 2009 Posted October 15, 2009 15 years ago I injured the same bone in my left foot playing basketball. The fracture I received was two splits in the knuckle of the bone. There are a number of ligaments that attach to that knuckle. My injury also tweeked the hell out of the ligaments. I started light running on it 4 weeks later. It felt OK. After six weeks I went cragging and re-injuried it. X-rays showed that the splits in the knuckle widened. It took another 4 months after the re-injury to walk normally (placing full weight on it) without pain. I did not run, hike or climb for 8 months. My experience told me that a Jones fracture is a slow healing injury, one that you need to be patient with. To this day I still have occasional pain from the injury, but it is not severe and it does not inhibit me from participating in athletics. Good luck with your recovery and take your time getting back on the horse. Quote
Le Piston Posted October 15, 2009 Posted October 15, 2009 I fractured the same bone in my left foot about 7 years ago after a fall in the mountains...between that and the broken tailbone it was a long slow hike out. It took about a month before the pain went away. I had to work, so no time to stay off it and let it heal. I guess it depends on the degree of fracture, swelling, your healing, etc. I'd use the cold beer to ice it while elevating the foot, then drink it...multipurpose therapy. I hope you heal quickly and get to play with the new toys! Quote
peas Posted October 16, 2009 Posted October 16, 2009 I have chipped that bone or something similar on both feet, though it sounds like your fracture is much more serious than mine were. No casts or crutches, though for one of them they wanted to put a cast on after a week. It was feeling good by then so I opted out. I was walking somewhat normally after a couple weeks. One chip happened in the fall and the other in the winter so I was back climbing the next season. I think that I changed the way I jam since the chips and I get twinges every once in a while when I foot jam or do something else strenuous to my feet. My experiences are probably about as good as you can expect considering the relative seriousness of each of our injuries. Good luck with your recovery. Quote
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