I am recovering from a broken left foot (5th metatarsal fracture between the head and shaft of the bone 6/3, had a screw put in it down the length a week ago - 6/14). It was not a stress fracture - I rolled the foot off a curb and popped it.
Prior to the injury I was running about 10 miles a week, with a 4-5 mile long run and a couple of shorter ones (3x/week).
I see the doc next Monday (6/27) and he will likely then get rid of my splint for something removable and allow me to start putting weight on it “as tolerated” and start watersports again.
I’m wondering how I should structure my return to running. I don’t want to push it and re-injure the foot.
Right now I’m thinking
aquajog and swim until I can walk again
bike and - here’s where it gets sketcy - elliptical??
start a “couch-to” program to slowly add in surface running… ???
3a) treadmill / grass ?
3b) indoor track ?
3c) asphalt ??
Any suggestions? War stories from similar fractures? Other useful comments?
I have a sprint tri (800m/14mi/5K) scheduled for August 7th. I’d like to do it, even if I have to walk the run portion. Come to think of it, even if I have to stop at T2 (no time to set up a relay team).
I have another sprint tri (800m/20mi/4mi) scheduled 9/17 as well. I’m hoping I can run this one.
OK - I fix these fx (mid diaphyseal) all the time. Will take about 6-8 weeks to feel good. Best advice is to listen to your surgeon since only he/she knows how well the screw purchased, etc. You should be fine with running by your August Sprint though. Also, there are a lots of ways to fix these fractures, and that is my favorite (screw down the pike)
Thanks for the reply. And nice to hear from an ortho doc (I presume)!
As aggravating as it has been, I’ve been following “Doctor’s orders” pretty strictly so far. I’m really hoping he’ll let me get back in the water after Monday’s (two week post-op) checkup.
2 weeks post-op from ME is reasonable (assuming your incision is fine which it usually is at about 2 weeks). I’m a little more lenient with my running/tri brethren though. Some are much more conservative. No pushing off the wall/flip turns though. Now might be the time for some easy TI or drills that you’ve been wanting to do
Thanks for the responses… I’ll bug you for one more question, then I’ll wait to see what the doc who’s actually getting paid has to say on Monday…
How long do you usually suggest your tri brethren stay off the bike? I’ve been trying to figure this one out in my head, balancing pressure and torque on the foot vs. the stiffness of my cycling shoes as compared to a cast… Is it a pain tolerance thing, or does there need to be additional bone growth time?
You THINK your doc is getting paid I’ll stay off my insurance company rant/soap box for now …
Bike shoes are nice and stiff, but way too much motion/torque until the metatarsal has some healing. The nice thing about the mid shaft screw is that it really limits this. Problem is that there is little compression across the fx site this way (which is also good).
I would bike (preferrably spinning in a low gear) at about the 4-6 week mark. Mayb bug your doc for an extra external bone stimulator that he/she may have for the extra “what if” insurance. Won’t hurt anything. Also, the Exogen unit (Ultrasound) seems to have good coverage for notoriously slow to heal fx (as the 5th met unfortuneately can be).
Ah, just saw that movie again - cried like a baby at the end: how embarassing (luckily it was just my wife and I). Don’t worry, I’ve had plenty of help from this site as well - that is the beauty of the peaceful tribe.
