Is this a STRESS FRACTURE?

Yes

I also forgot to mention I had no swelling on my foot like a lot of stress fractures do

Dgxgdxt wrote:

I also forgot to mention I had no swelling on my foot like a lot of stress fractures do

Stop going on WebMD, stress fractures essentially never swell up. That is some crap made up by a third-rate intern who has never once consulted the medical literature.

Oh and yes you have/had a stress fracture. You should be in a boot or on crutches until you have no pain walking around.

When I had a stress fracture in my foot, I had no swelling at all, made me think it was no big deal and kept running and just cut my mileage back after a long cycle of reducing mileage and trying to convince myself it wasn't serious I ended up having to take a long time off running.

Eventually I went to a podiatrist who analyzed my gait/footstrike and said my right footstrike was terrible and I'd always have problems unless I wore orthotics...I was a bit skeptical since I'm pretty sure podiatrists main purpose is to sell orthotics, but I got some, finished healing and my foot felt good.

Anyways, that was my experience, pain sounds similar to yours I'd err on the side of caution and get it checked out sooner rather than later, but obviously I had bad lack self diagnosing/treating.

A good and simple test to tell if you have a stress fracture or break is to (gently) move your indivudally with your hands left, right, up, and down and see if you have pain. If you feel pain, you most likely have some kind of fracture. If there is no pain, it is possible that you an inflammation in your foot (tendinitis).

Either way, check it out with a doctor. You will regret it if you let it stay injured too long or come back too quickly. Best of luck in healing an don't forget, you have your whole life ahead of you.

no, it is nerve damage. i would take a close look at laser therapy, lots of new developments in this area. a fracture would show on the scan.

Canadian doctor wrote:

no, it is nerve damage. i would take a close look at laser therapy, lots of new developments in this area. a fracture would show on the scan.

You're incompetent. Stress fractures do not show on X-rays until they have healed where calacification is then observable.

OP get an mri.

Canadian doctor wrote:

no, it is nerve damage. i would take a close look at laser therapy, lots of new developments in this area. a fracture would show on the scan.

Ignore this Canadian "doctor".

OP, I too had pain in my third metatarsal that sounded very similar to yours. An x-ray showed nothing but an MRI showed a stress fracture. 4-6 weeks in a walking boot.

Which would be better. MRI or bone scan?

Dgxgdxt wrote:

Which would be better. MRI or bone scan?

Mine showed up on an MRI. Never had a bone scan, but all I can say is that an MRI will definitely tell you if you have a stress fracture or not.

I had a 3rd metatarsal stress fracture a few years ago. The first time I got an X-Ray it did not show up (2.5 weeks after the start of pain). MRIs are expensive so I figured if it hurts to run I will just take time off, It does not matter what the diagnosis is. After about 5 weeks I started training again. 15 miles on a turf field and went up by about 5-10 miles a week. By the time I hit about 35 miles a week I went to the doctor again for an X-Ray because I would it still hurt sometimes and this time the stress fracture showed up. This was about 9 weeks after the injury.

When I had 3rd metatarsal stress fracture, I did see some swelling. It's not big swelling, just that the veins on the back of my broken foot was not visible as the ones on the good foot. I took one month completely off, no cross train, and then started running again.

It could be a stress fracture. I would recommend taking time off. Xrays normally dont show stress fractures initially---it takes a couple weeks.

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OP, what you describe sounds like a stress fracture. As others have said, swelling is often not present. I have never had swelling with any of my stress fractures (including 3rd met stress fracture). Get an mri rather than a bone scan-no radiation and you will get a dx.

I could not stand more than 3-5 hours at work due to severe pain in both feet as result of plantar fasciitis. After receiving proper treatments and wearing the orthofeet shoes I can happily say that I am able to stand for 12 hours at work and be pain free in both my feet. They feel great and I love the colors. Have helped my knee pain tremendously.

stop posting on forums and get a god damn bone scan or MRI you idiot

It sounds like it.

I had a stress fracture on my third metatarsal and what you've described sounds exactly like it.

Mine did not swell up either.

Contrarian opinion: MRI is a waste of time and money. Regardless of what it shows you're going to be resting for several weeks anyway if you're in that much pain. Treat it as a sfx and get in a walking boot.