subject: Stress Fractures In The Metatarsal Bones In Your Foot [print this page] Many times throughout a persons life they will put excessive stress to the second, third, or fourth metatarsal, which are the long bones in your feel that extend out to your toes. The excessive stress often causes a stress fracture or a hair line break. Marc Blatstien, Podiatrist said that the stress can be so subtle that most people will not even notice that there was an injury to the foot. This is something that many refer to as March Fracture because soldiers often developed foot pain after long periods of those in the military, marching.
Typically the presentation of this injury is with pain and swelling in the ball of the foot that will most likely occur while the person is walking. Pressure on the bones in this area of the foot will produce pain. Most podiatrist will find this pain by pressing on the mid-foot, Marc Blatstien, Podiatrist said that these can be hard to detect because the X-Rays will show up negative for the first 1-2 weeks. The best evidence on X-rays is after 2 weeks where bone callus (which is new boney healing), is evidence to the physician that there is a healing process happening in the bone.
Marc Blatstien, Podiatrist said there are a few ways that you can best treat these types of injuries to your foot. The first and perhaps most important is rest, stay off your foot and allow it the proper time to heal. Elevation allows you to keep swelling down and is great for the healing process, it also forces you to lie down and relax. Ice also helps by cooling down the injured area and helping prevent swelling and bruising. The last form of treatment is often a surgical shoe or a below the knee removable cast. This allows you to add some extra support to the foot and help the foot to rest for days that you are up on your feet and busy. Most often the time that it takes a bone to heal is approximately 6- 8 weeks and most physicians will ask that you treat your injury for that amount of time.
