 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi, looking for some advice from any of the physios or docs out there.
I've fractured the fourth metatarsal of my left foot. At the minor injuries clinic they said it needed to be strapped up. The nurse then strapped the second and third toes together  I protested, but she wasn't very pleased, just said "I know that that's not where the pain is but it acts as a splint"
So, my questions are - does it really need to be strapped? and if it does should I strap the fourth toe to the third? (though it's not the toe that's broken)
and, most importantly, when can I get my ski boot back on?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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nah - just take it off, go skiing and you''ll be fine!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Don't be a wimp, I broke a couple of ribs, and with the aid of some pokey pain killers was back skiing the next day, only delayed the healing and put me out of action for a month or so...
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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jbob, You put your ski boot on your ribs?????
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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ickabodblue, I broke a toe two years ago, it was much less painful when I had my ski boots on than normal shoes.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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ickabodblue, sorry I made my point badly, listen to your nurse, not your mates.
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rjs, I'm sure it would be much less painful in my boots 'cos that would immobilise it but I can't get the boot on at the moment. If only I still had those old rear entry boots......
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jbob, No worries mate I was just having a laugh !
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I thought neighbour strapping for undisplaced MT fractures had gone with the ark.
Get some physio. This should be arranged through the fracture clinic - you have been referred there I hope.
I don't like minor injury units in general, so my views are maybe jaundiced. But if it was my metatarsal, I would like my foot & its Xray seen by a doctor, please. And then physio.
There is something to be said for a walking plaster in the short term if the pain is severe, but otherwise I think most places are advising early mobilisation and intensive physio.
Lots of caveats - I haven't done an orthopaedic job for many years, I havent seen your foot, its XR, I have no idea what sort of fracture, undisplaced, displaced, comminuted, open... and the net is no place for diagnosis.
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doctor_eeyore, thanks for the advice and I realise that of course you can't diagnose over the net and must also add that I've never had a bad experience with the NHS.
But... I've not been referred to the fracture clinic or anywhere else. I saw the x-ray, the fracture is not displaced. it runs from just below the met head to half way down the shaft of the bone and it is agony to walk on. The doctor who saw it said the treatment was to strap it and take pain killers, then a nurse came in and strapped the 2nd and 3rd digits together with a bit of hapla and got most upset when I questioned this - it's the 4th met that is fractured.
So what to do without causing offence and seeming like a moaning minnie?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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ickabodblue, mmmmm, being as the 2nd and 3rd metatarsals are part of the medial colunm of the foot and the 4th is part of the lateral colunm i find it difficult to understand why taping 2 & 3 together would be of any benefit at all, but then again fractures are not my strong point[ i tend to work with feet that are broken in other ways] so i would go with doctor_eeyore's thoughts
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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CEM, I usually work with corns and callouses but that is exactly what I thought. Our local surgery has a self referral system for physio so I think I'll investigate that, not sure how long the waiting list is though 
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ickabodblue, and don't forget to ice it.
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You know it makes sense.
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Helen Beaumont, I may be out of date but is ice not only useful quite soon after the event. (I broke it a week ago but NHS 24 told me it would be fine, take an aspirin and it would be right as rain in a few days.) would ice still be useful after a week?
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Ok, guys think about this one. Use your hand as an example to yourselves. Forget the books and use those brains. BTW, strapping 5th and 4th would be impossible, well difficult and imo, ineffective.
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Poster: A snowHead
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SMALLZOOKEEPER, Yeh, but I could strap the 3rd and 4th no? Which would do more good. I'm just asking if strapping is necessary at all as it seems a little out dated so maybe physio is the way to go as the good doc said.
I'm also not convinced that strapping the toes would make that much difference if the # is in the foot.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I was thinking that it may restrict ROM and at least maintain function whilst permitting a certain amount of rehab'.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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ickabodblue, if it's going to interfere with your skiing, forget waiting lists, go to private physio right away. Someone could give it to you for Christmas!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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This should heal in a few weeks so the pain will soon be gone.
Keep off it as much as possible so as not to aggravate the fracture and maybe go to another medical team for an opinion on the way forward.
You only want to know that the plan so far is going to be a quick healing process without any complications.
The bone will knit soon enough to bear some weight and then you just want it to be able to take the shock of movement...funny how well the ligaments and tendons do these sorts of jobs unnoticed.. and then you can load it. The good thing is that once you have it in the boot, the boot will be like a cast anyway.
I hope you aren't going sking in 4 weeks........pref 6 plus would be my type of guess.
P.S torn cartlidge or broken ribs...?? not much difference to me as it bloody hurt when I fell on it and I had to go skiing for the 1st time within the week. And that was all about falling....!!!!!!!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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JT, Not going away for another 8 weeks so all should be fine on that count. Don't think I'm going to make the club championships tomorrow though So despite promising my son that I would race as well, he'll have to go it alone. See, every cloud has a silver lining 
P.S After taking painkillers it feels quite good this morning. I think it was really tender yesterday 'cos lots of people were pulling and prodding it. I'll get that boot on sooner than I thought!!!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Quote: |
So despite promising my son that I would race as well, he'll have to go it alone.
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Ah. I get it. Shot yourself in the foot - a Blighty one?
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ickabodblue, you haven't said how you fractured it - the reason I ask is because this is a bone that sometimes suffers a stress (i.e. overuse) fracture and this would alter my view on how you deal with it.
BTW I also cannot see any logic behind strapping 2nd to 3rd toe.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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ickabodblue, re your sig??? why do you want to know??
surrey BTW
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ickabodblue, in that case I very much go along with doctor_eeyore's first response above.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Visiting my sis in Frimley just after Xmas and need to feed my dendix habit. Where would snowheads suggest
Answer - where the f@ck is Frimley?? |
CEM, Small joke that the boarders made.
Nick L, Thanks for your advice, I'll get some physio sorted out as I've not been referred.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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pam w, My boy did his race and did really well. ( of course if I'd been fit he wouldn't have stood a chance!!!)
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Starting my next lot of lessons the first week of January, I can get my boot on and figure the boot will immobilise the foot so shouldn't do too much harm, should it?
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You know it makes sense.
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ickabodblue, essentially if it doesn't hurt much, you're not doing much harm so carry on.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Went for a short walk today (2.5 miles), the Campsie Fells are covered in snow and look really lovely. Foot feels fine so I am starting my next block of lessons tomorrow. I think four weeks for it to heal is quite good going. Now to get fit again 
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Poster: A snowHead
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I broke my big toe quite badly rock climbing back in september and in my rush to get back to both climbing and running I didn't let it heal for long enough, I'm now left with a constantly swolen big toe that gives me occasional pain. However I've been told my ski boots will offer it the most support, so it seems for me that I need to do more skiing and less climbing and running for the next few months which suits me just fine.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Alpinebullit, How long did you let it heal? I suppose climbing and running would put quite a strain on the toe.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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ickabodblue, leave the splints on your toes for as long as you can they do really help keep the bones aligned and help healing. I started climbing again three weeks after the break (and it was a bad break of the big toe which is the biggest load bearing bone of the body) with some (quite alot of) pain in the toe. I started running again four weeks after the break. I spend alot of time hiking, running and climbing so just couldn't bear to be off my feet and not doing activity for too long. In hindsight climbing and running was wrong, I couldn't have picked two worse activities to start doing again so soon. I was referred to a fracture and orthopedic clinic and they told me to do what activity I could but I don't think they realised just how much climbing and running that I did, so they told me just to get back on the toe as normal but stop when I felt pain (I have a high pain threshold!!)
I had a good chat with my foot specialist (forget what the proper name is) at weekend and the chat did turn towards metartarsals (footballers and the like), she thought three weeks rest and healing time wasn't long enough for metartarsals without leaving yourself having problems with it both short term and long term. I'm now left with trying to sort the toe out with both ice and heat programmes (to talt the sweling out of the toe) and physio and even some of the old school mixture of comfry and hot water (knit bone). However she said that ski boots give lots of support.
ickabodblue, if I'm right in thinking that you're not going away until february I would have thought you would be fine by then. Having said that I'm not a specialist I'm just going off my own injuries of the past.
Enjoy your holiday and as soon as the swelling and pain subside try your boots out!! My climbing shoes still give me pain when on but I'm away in Mottaret from saturday and have have had my ski boots on quite alot this week and they feel fine even with my slightly large big toe!
All the best.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Alpinebullit, Thanks for your advice, have a great time in Mottaret, I'm sure you will! 
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FAQ
not on purpose, I'm sure someone sneaked in and put a radiator where I wasn't expecting it 
