Left Foot still hurts

Just to add on, my doctor said my left foot's muscle is weak and I should start walking more to build up strength. I'm just afraid in my mind that I will re-injure it again. I haven't run in months. Should I experiment slowly jogging on a treadmill, and see how my foot reacts? Or should I go in a pool and do a little bit of exercise in the water?

Anybody?? BUMP

I would go on 5 walks a day for now, each walk 9 minutes 59 seconds long. Don't take it to the point of pain. Then also do some single-leg balance exercises. The balance exercises will help strengthen your foot without stressing out the bone.

I wouldn't run right now. The pool would be fine.

Anybody else have any suggestions?

I had an undiagnosed stress fracture Oct 2016, tried to train lightly thru it but did not heal until I took a full 6-8 weeks off and then started very gradually increasing. I stayed in mediocre shape by spinning daily. Biking and swimming would also be good, aquajogging probably would be best. Just be very gradual and it should heal and strengthen as you increase.

I'm up to 35 miles per week now, started running again back in early January so that's how slow I'm taking it. Treadmill running and non-pavement surfaces will be your friend.

Thanks for the reply. Were you in the cast for 6-8 weeks? I was on for 4 weeks.

Do you think I should be put in a cast again and this time be in the cast longer than 4 weeks? The problem with me is that I didn't treat my fracture for 9 months.

Are you able to walk/run normally now? No problem with the nerves or bone ligament? I'm worried that I might have nerve damage. I can feel there's still something wrong with my left foot, the problem is I don't know what it is or how to treat it. I'm planning to get another MRI later.

I can walk for a short distance but it starts to bother and kind of hurt when I walk long distances (past 20 minutes).

You said you took a full 6-8 weeks off. I've taken a full 5 months off, yet there is still something wrong with my foot. I might eventually need surgery, which I want to avoid. I've been slowly walking and exercising but I don't know if it's getting better.

Bump..would like to hear from more replies on this.

Google Camille Herron, a runner whose site had a lot of stress fracture info that helped me 4 years ago when I had a 3rd metatarsal SF

Ok will do, but would like to hear any tips or suggestions regarding my state.

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Helpppp

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Would like to hear more responses...

Help....

Is the third metatarsal bone your middle toe?

I've been there, jones fracture (8 weeks).

The pain will last for months even after complete healing. Start running again and go by feel, it will pass.

Sorry to hear your plight. Hearing the way you were mismanaged makes my blood boil. Not putting you in a cam walker boot for a stress fracture is malpractice, in my opinion. Four weeks in a cast, after all that, is not long enough. I'd definitely get a current x-ray to look at a few things the MRI won't actually help as much in determining. One is the current alignment of the 3rd metatarsal, as there is a possibility, with all that unprotected ambulation, that the bone has angulated upward, which is obviously not good. Also, the x-ray can show the amount of bony proliferation around the fracture, called bone callus, that has built up. There may be a lot of bone callus since the fracture wasn't properly immobilized, as this is the body's own way of trying to immobilize the bone. A large amount of bone callus can absolutely cause tissue damage to the adjacent muscles, tendons, and nerves, and this cannot simply be "massaged" out, although massage may break up some scar tissue around it. This, however, is permanent structural change. Some will be resorbed over time, so improvement from this issue is possible. Yes, also definitely get the MRI. This will best determine if the fracture is actually fully healed or not (x-ray may obviously tell if it's not healed also, if you can literally see a fracture line, but I'd still get the MRI in this case to see if it's a non-union fracture, meaning it is less likely to have healing potential anymore). Sometimes a CT is useful if the MRI can't give that determination. If not healed, the best treatment option needs to be determined by a SMART specialist. This may be more immobilization, offloading, use of a bone stimulator, or even surgery. Please keep us updated on your progress with this.

Oh, and DEFINITELY DO NOT start running again at this point. You are playing Russian roulette with your foot if you do so. Get it properly checked out first.

Yes, It is the third toe from the left. In between my second and third is where the fracture occurred.