Bone bruises in foot bones persist 3 months after fractures

[Anonymous]

I am a 40yo woman who sustained 4th and 5th metatarsal fractures 3 months ago from a wrong step. Still having pain, I was sent for an MRI by ortho and received the following report:

1. There is marrow edema within the base of the fifth metatarsal consistent
with a bone bruise versus healing zone 1 fracture.
2. There are bone bruises of the distal cuboid and base of the fourth
metatarsal. Lisfranc ligament is intact.
3. There is a 13 x 27 x 4 mm ganglion cyst deep to the distal tibialis
anterior tendon, superficial to the navicular and medial cuneiform.
4. There is increased fluid associated with the FHL and FDL tendons just
proximal to the knot of Henry. Correlation for tendon irritation is
suggested.

At the follow up I was told it just will take more time and the pain is due to
the bone bruises.

Any armchair opinions on how if this seems like a normal occurrence with fractures, or if there is something else I should be looking into? Friends who have similarly fractured their 5th metatarsal have been surprised by the severity of how long it is taking my injuries to heal and don’t recall issues around bone bruising.

Any advice on how to make it heal faster? Would acupuncture or massage help?

Thank you.

[Anonymous]

TIME HEALSWOUNDS

[Anonymous]

My foot fractures took years to stop bothering me and the podiatrist never did anything other than take 100 xrays and then try to sell me custom orthotics. You can’t really do much but wait.

[Anonymous]

I broke my cuniform and I did acupuncture, loaded up on dairy and bone broth, and foot strengthening excercises.

[Anonymous]

OP here, thanks for the responses. I appreciate you sharing your perspectives. Will look into the bone broth angle, it can’t hurt!

[Anonymous]

Oh and wear socks to bed. Not attractive but unfortunately necessary to keep your feet warm and help blood to circulate to your foot and speed healing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, thanks for the responses. I appreciate you sharing your perspectives. Will look into the bone broth angle, it can’t hurt!

Hi OP-former ballet dancer here. We got bone bruises and what we called “stone bruises” from jumps in class and on stage. They took forever to heal-and dance only made them worse. Best of luck! Try alternating heat and ice on them and keep weight off of you can

[Anonymous]

If you are on facebook, there is a broken ankle/foot group with 9,000+ members. You may get a better answer there.

[Anonymous]

Hi OP. I got a simple broken toe and it still took forever to feel better. Nothing wrong with seeking a second opinion but chances are there’s no magic cure here. It’s possible something like physical therapy would help though?mi don’t know. Just wanted to say I think it’s not abnormal that you don’t feel one hundred percent three months later.

[Anonymous]

What exactly is a bone bruise? Is it one degree away from a fracture?