Having a foot fracture can feel like a major setback. To many people, this can be a hard reality filled with many worries and concerns. How am I going to take care of the kids? How am I going to work to pay bills? How am I going to drive? How long is this going to take? While these are all valid questions, the key to remember is that most fracture healing is temporary and will not last forever, despite how it feels upon initial diagnosis.
One may ask, how long does it take to heal a fractured or broken foot? In the author’s experience, most bones in the foot heal in eight to ten weeks. Depending on the severity some may take up to twelve weeks.
What can one do to help their fracture heal?
- Avoid or stop tobacco
- Follow weight bearing restrictions to the tee as directed by your doctor
- Follow a good diet and research sources of calcium that work for you
- Consider taking multiple vitamins
- Consider taking a bone building supplement known as “Bone-up” as long as there is no reason not to
In most cases, surgery can be avoided by wearing a cam walker or cast boot and following strict weightbearing instructions. Initially, some may have to use crutches, a wheel chair or a rolling walker. The rolling walker allows one to place the injured foot on a rolling bench much like a scooter in a non-weightbearing fashion to help fracture healing.
In some cases, surgery may be required when the fracture site is deemed unstable. Surgery may also be required if the fractured portion is not close enough to the neighboring foot bone. Generally, this is when the gap between the fractured section is more than 2 millimeters.
If one suspects a fracture, immediate medical care should be sought for proper evaluation and treatment. Failure to do so may result in non-healing bone or delayed union which may require more extensive surgery requiring bone graft.
If you need help with a suspected foot fracture call today