Forums >Health and Nutrition>Recovery/ fractured metatarsal?
Anyone have experience with full recovery from metatarsal fracture? Mine was nearly 8 months ago. Feeling better, but doc says "quit running/buy a bike". My desire is moderate mileage and an occasional Half-Marathon. I am a heavy runner at 6' tall and 190-200 lbs. Hoping to be able to resume normal running. Thanks.
Get off my porch
SMART Approach
Get a new dr, hope to ease back to running by week six, according to my dr.
+1. When you are healed you are healed. Gradually, get back at it.
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Granted, my injury was 9 years ago...way before I started running, but get a new doc! I had a fractured metatarsal and a crush injury to my foot. I dropped a 50 pound weight on my foot at the gym. I started running a little over a year ago, and have a half marathon under my belt. Good luck!
Faster Than Your Couch!
Depends on whether you had a stress fracture, or an acute injury, and on how it all healed up.
If you had an acute injury, and everything has healed up well, there is nothing to stop you from running, even relatively high mileage, as long as you ease into it gently.
If you had a stress fracture which never healed properly (incomplete fusion), it might make sense to minimize the load on your foot. That said, in this case you might consider reducing even walking, and getting surgery to improve the results (if this has not been tried yet).
If you had a stress fracture which has healed fairly well, or an acute injury which has not healed completely, it can be anything between.
By all means, I'd at least seek a second opinion before making any decisions about it.
I had a bad metatarsal fracture (5th metatarsal) and dislocation of the base joint of my pinkie toe, and a broken toe as well (I had hit a corner on my patio). It took several months to heal, and maybe two or three years until everything was pain-free again, but now I'm running ultra distances without pain.
Run for fun.
I had a third metatarsal fracture last fall. I was running again after about five weeks. I had some discomfort but mostly I was just freaked out.
This is an excellent article (and comments section) on stress fractures, recoveries, and everything in between: http://camilleherron.com/2011/05/11/overcoming-stress-fractures/
Good luck. Eight months is plenty of time for healing. And if you're a runner and you go to a doctor who automatically says don't run, then find another doctor!