Trauma & Fractures

Nearly one-fourth of all of the bones in your body are in your feet. As your feet provide you with both support and the ability to walk, they are also subjected to a lot of trauma that can cause injuries. There are many different types of fractures that can occur in the feet. A fracture is a break in the bone. The words fracture and break are used synonymously.

There are four main types of fractures that can occur in the feet: stress fractures, traumatic fractures, open fractures, and closed fractures. Although all of these types of fractures can occur in all age groups, children and adolescents have open growth plates, which can require some special considerations.

Stress fractures occur frequently in the metatarsal bones that start at the base of your toes and extend to the middle of your foot. Stress fractures are tiny cracks that occur on the surface of the bone. Stress fractures are often caused by increased stress in a particular bone (or bones) in the foot that may be due to increases in a particular training program, improper training techniques, or changes in training surfaces. For the non-athlete, stress fractures can be caused by increasing activity and doing too much too quickly without allowing your body to adjust to your new activity level, improper shoe gear during walking or running, and changes in the surfaces upon which you are walking.

Traumatic fractures are caused by an injury or trauma to a bone or bones in your foot. Examples of this include dropping a heavy object on your foot, a twisting injury (such as a sprained ankle), or ‘jamming’ a toe or toes against a door, chair, or bedpost. When these injuries occur, they may be accompanied by a ‘pop’ or ‘crack’ or just significant pain in the area.

Open fractures (sometimes called ‘compound fractures’) occur when the bone pierces through the skin and is exposed to the environment outside of the body. Closed fractures occur when the bone does not pierce through the skin and stays within the body.

Displaced Fractures are those where the ends of the bone are out of alignment with each other, and one or both parts of the bone have moved from their original position.

Non-Displaced Fractures are fractures where the bone has broken, but the edges of the fractured bone have not moved and are still ‘in line’ with each other.

Symptoms

The most common symptoms are the following:

• Pain

• Swelling

• Bruising

The ability to walk with a fracture in the foot is dependent on the type of fracture that is present.

If you have a broken toe, you may be able to walk, but walking will aggravate the pain. If the pain, swelling, and discoloration continue for more than two or three days, or if the pain interferes with walking, something could be seriously wrong. You should see a doctor as soon as possible. If you delay getting treatment, you could develop persistent foot pain and arthritis. You could also change the way you walk (your gait), which could lead to the formation of painful calluses on the bottom of your foot, stress fractures, or other injuries.