Crack!

That’s never a welcome sound when it comes to your bones and health. Yet cracks, breaks, and fractures happen in people of all ages, sizes, and fitness levels. It never seems to happen at a good time. You have things to do, races to run, and life to live. When your foot or ankle is fractured, you need advanced treatment to help you recover and get you moving again.

No Two Fractures Are the Same

There are countless ways that you can fracture your feet or ankles. From being involved in an auto accident to putting too much stress on your bones, foot fractures stem from a variety of types of trauma:

Traumatic Injuries and Accidents

When most people think of fractures, they think of a traumatic incident. Falls, car accidents, or any type of forceful blow to the foot or ankle can shatter a bone in an instant.

If this happens to your feet or ankles, chances are great that you will have multiple fractured bones. That’s because there are so many small bones in your feet keeping your toes and ankle connected.

Stress Fractures

Stress fractures are a little bit different. They are caused by overuse of the bones. Over time, this overuse can put an unbearable amount of stress on the bones, causing them to crack.

Common causes of stress fractures include:

  • Running or physical activity
  • Weight gain, including pregnancy weight gain
  • Missteps due to a misaligned gait or other foot injury

Stress fractures usually occur in the bones that connect your toes to your upper foot and ankle. These are the bones that carry the most weight. They’re also the smallest bones, which means that any tiny crack can lead to a small fracture.

Symptoms to Watch For

Fractures can look very similar to other types of foot injuries, such as sprains, or strains. There are a few symptoms that you should watch for to help determine if you have a broken bone:

  • Swelling
  • Pain
  • Worsened pain with walking
  • Bruising can occur with traumatic fractures, since there could be other injuries outside of the broken bone. It usually does not occur with stress fractures.

Diagnosing and Treating Your Fractures

When you pay a visit to our Massapequa podiatry office, one of the first things we’ll do is perform a physical exam. This exam tells a lot about your foot’s condition.

We’ll also have you do an imaging test to determine the severity of the fracture and its exact location (or locations).

Based on your tests and symptoms, Dr. Gasparini will recommend a course of action. It’s imperative you heed his suggestions, because an untreated fracture can lead to deterioration of the bone or arthritis as time passes.

Some of the most common types of treatment for fractures include:

  • Rest. It’s not a welcome course of treatment, but it is important that you stay off your feet to avoid doing more harm to your foot or ankle.
  • Wearing orthotics. Protective footwear will prevent further damage once you do get up and moving again.
  • Immobilization. Depending on where your fracture is located, you might wear a cast or brace to immobilize your foot and ankle as your injury heals.
  • Surgery. In more severe cases, surgery might be required to help your body make a full recovery.

To aid in your recovery, maintain a healthy diet. Eat calcium-rich foods, such as spinach and other leafy greens, or full-fat yogurts and dairy products.

Don’t Wait to Get Treatment

Delaying treatment is an easy way to further injure your foot. Call 844-899-8658 to see if your foot is fractured and get started with the care you need.