re-occurring foot?

[jonn_07]

Hopefully this is in the guidelines of this forum. While serving (11B), I fractured a few metatarples in my right foot on a training mission. The Bn. Medic ( who happened to be SF qualified) assessed this and sent me to Yongson to get it put in a cast. Fine and dandy. That was almost 5 years ago and it is beginning to present problems again. After being on my feet for the average working day, it begins to pop and feels as if it is grinding. The civilian orthopedic physician (covered by my "wonderful" insurance provider) told me he thought it was fine and said to try boot inserts. Tried them and the feeling persisted. Went back and he said that was all he knew to do. Go figure. As seeing you guys deal with soldiers on a constant (I guess due to the fact that soldiers are on their feet and most of the time carrying heavy loads), I was wondering if there was any advice you may have. Any advice would be much apprecciated. Sorry if this post was not in the guidelines set. Thank you again.

[Eagle5US]

GReetings John-

Had any X-Rays lately???

Eagle

[jonn_07]

Roger that. The physician said that there are a few spots that look like they may be re-fractured. When asked about a cast, he said it would not be prudent and advised me to "stay off " of it as much as possible. Hard to do when I have to earn a living. I was hoping one of you guys would have a method or a better idea, as seeing the type of work/missions you guys do, that might enable me to have an easier time with this aggravation.

[Dustin03]

it can be done...knew a quarterback from my old days of football that had a "playing cast" made so that he could play football with a broke foot......he was quick, and good at his game. I guess it just depends on how much you want it. Hope I'm not out of line here, just offering some past experences with the same problems.

[ccrn]

You may want to see a good sports orthopedic Doc to look at that foot.

If your insurance wont pay for it pay him or her out of pocket. They often take payments-

HTH

ccrn

[Detcord]

the only time i had problems with my feet was in SFAS where i recieved
some stress fractures in my right foot. i was in pain the last 4 days of
the course, but i gutted it out and passed. i remember when we got back
to the SWC barracks at Bragg, most of us couldn't walk too well, lol. it
took a month before i could walk "normally" with running shoes on and
not be in pain.

foot fractures are bad because if you want to stand upright, all your
bodyweight presses down on the feet. especially painful is when the foot
has to articulate through the normal range of motion.

that was years ago, and from time to time i get recurring, mild pain in the
same location of the stress fractures. after you significantly damage a part
of the body, it's never really the same, even though you may feel like you're
at 100% and can still perform your job.

i would ask the following:

are you fit??
what's your bodyweight???
do you run or jog???
are you carrying or lifting heavy loads???
what type of footgear do you wear???
does your workplace have concrete floors???
does your diet include adequate calcium intake???

interesting about the "pop and grind" you describe. it's normal for joints
to pop and crack, but i'm guessing this is not of the "normal" variety.

how did you sustain the fractures??? running/walking is one thing,
having something heavy fall on the foot, having the foot run over by a
vehicle, etc. is another.

it's possible some soft-tissue damage occured which may account for some
of the "grinding" you describe. grinding often indicates bone-on-bone contact
which is normally buffered by cartilage.

save your money with the sports doctors, they won't help much if at all.
you may have re-fractured the metatarsals to some degree.

an x-ray would be most helpful.

generally speaking, staying off your feet as much as possible will
help the foot to heal the fastest. if you can't do that, look into allowable
footgear that provides maximum protection from impact. this normally
means a decent pair of running shoes. you might also want to look
into custom-fitted orthotics which might be covered by your insurance.
unlike cheap boot inserts, orthotics provide maximum support for your feet.

good luck bro!!!