Metatarsal fracture?

For 8 days now I've had a really painful foot which is getting worse.

It's a bruised feeling, very tender to touch & is located at the metatarsal head by the big toe. Anyone else had this?

[earl-grey-sian Graduate]

There's only one accurate way to find out. From my experience, both as an occupational therapist and as a mother of clumsy children (now grown into, thankfully, less clumsy adults) if you can weight-bear, it's not broken, but could be a torn ligament. Is it on the top or the sole of your foot?

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Top of my foot,about 2 inches below the bottom of my big toe.

[earl-grey-sian Graduate]

Why don't you get it x-rayed. I know this means a long boring visit to A&E, but better to be safe than sorry. A fracture generally heals faster than a ligament tear. Can you move your toes and does your ankle move properly?

[MrHanssen]

Hello sorry to cheer you up but you can weight bear with a # metatarsal. So what did you do? Bone is extremely strong and does not just fracture because you run on it a couple of times a a week. However you do have something called stress fractures or march fractures, common in soldiers as they do a lot of repetive movement with their feet. Does the pain go off when you rest? The only way to be totally sure is to have an x-ray of your foot, however if you go to your local hospital immediately there is a good chance a fracture will not show on the image and you will have to return 2 weeks later when the periosteal reaction will show on the image and tell us it is a fractured bone. But dont give up - bone heals much faster than torn ligament or sprained ankle etc. Keep going

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Thankyou earl-grey-sian & MrHanssen. I can move my toes & ankle freely & when I rest it doesn't hurt. When you say "keep going" MrHanssen do you mean keep going with the running?

[MrHanssen]

Hello clanger, if it stops hurting when you rest then that does not sound like a stress fracture but more like metatarsalgia - go to your gp and get some strong anti-inflammatory tablets . When you are not running where different shoes to change the angle of your foot . Yes I meant keep going with the running but after your foot is better