LarlaB Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 Today in CO we had very high winds- 35-50mph with gusts reported in at 86mph. Our fence was taking a beating so I went out with DH to try and wrangle a section before it fell down and destroyed the whole fence. A VERY strong gust landed the fence in the top on my foot. I was wearing ballet flats. Within minutes a hematoma formed- and I could not bear weight. X-ray showed no fracture which was a surprise to Dr and huge relief to me. Possibly a bone bruise. Now I’ve dealt with broken foot bones and fracture and ligament tear. Takes forever. I’m impatient and stoic and terrible patient who has had several lower limb injuries (and surgery). But now I’m stuck realizing I have no idea how long this will take to heal. This is my first go round with this type of injury. I can’t even put my foot on the floor much less bear weight. The throbbing is intense when the foot is anything but elevated. I’m using crutches around the house and obviously cancelling work clients. Does anyone have a reference for how long this should take to heal till I can go back to work? Urgent care Dr said just stay off it, ice and elevate until it’s better. Maybe 3 days. She was more preoccupied that it wasn’t a fracture LOL But can you really go from total non weight bearing to back to work and fine in 3 days? Hmmmm i attached a picture taken right after it happened and we pried my shoe off. It’s bigger and grosser now! ? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 Ouch, Larla! Ice? Lost of it? Bone bruises supposedly take a while to heal completely. And yes, I know several people who have gone from non-bearing to bearing weight inside a week BUT I don't know that it was the exact same thing as your dilemma. Good news is nothing is broken! Anti-inflammatory meds and turmeric capsules? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 It will probably take a week for the hematoma to subside. Probably some of the pain is due to the swelling. At that point you will probably have a better idea what else is injured. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 4 hours ago, kand said: If it’s not getting better in a few days, don’t take urgent care’s word there’s no fracture. We’re 0/3 for urgent care correctly diagnosing fractures in our family. Each time sent home with a diagnosis of “contusion” or “strain”. Sometimes it’s not their fault, as they don’t always show up on x-ray immediately. I agree! My son slipped and fell on wet grass and had the same kind of intense pain OP is describing. Took him to the ER, they did X-rays and said it was just a sprain. A couple days later when the pain had not improved at all, we had the ER send the X-rays to an orthopedic doctor. He took one look at the X-rays and said that ds had two broken bones and needed to have a boot put on immediately. OP, if you do not improve fairly quickly, I would definitely have an orthopedic doc look at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
school17777 Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 My kids have had bone bruises and they take awhile to heal. An orthopedic doctor said never go to a regular er/dr when you have an injury to a bone because they often misdiagnose the injury and if it’s not treated properly from the beginning, you could have lifelong consequences such as arthritis. So I agree with Selkie that you may want an orthopedic to review the X-rays. Hope it heals quickly and you aren’t in much pain. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 Did you say in another thread that you're a massage therapist? What a mess! I had a fall that resulted in a terrible bone bruise and may have been some kind of fracture. It took months to stop hurting and still hurt with the weather for a long time. You're definitely wise to stay off your feet and I would want that 2nd opinion. We didn't x-ray, and it took SO long for my leg to start hurting. Now I have scar tissue there that builds up and stiffens joint movement. So you want to get care for it, maybe massage later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 5 hours ago, kand said: If it’s not getting better in a few days, don’t take urgent care’s word there’s no fracture. We’re 0/3 for urgent care correctly diagnosing fractures in our family. Each time sent home with a diagnosis of “contusion” or “strain”. Sometimes it’s not their fault, as they don’t always show up on x-ray immediately. Yup. You need an actual orthopedist or a radiologist looking at the X-rays, not an urge care doctor. They are a "jack of all trades, expert at none" kind of doctor. You might check to see if there are any orthopedic urgent care or "convenient care" places in your area, we have two and they are fantastic. Just like urgent care but staffed with orthopedists and no flu germs :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarlaB Posted April 18, 2018 Author Share Posted April 18, 2018 42 minutes ago, PeterPan said: Did you say in another thread that you're a massage therapist? What a mess! I had a fall that resulted in a terrible bone bruise and may have been some kind of fracture. It took months to stop hurting and still hurt with the weather for a long time. You're definitely wise to stay off your feet and I would want that 2nd opinion. We didn't x-ray, and it took SO long for my leg to start hurting. Now I have scar tissue there that builds up and stiffens joint movement. So you want to get care for it, maybe massage later. Yes that’s me- Massage lady working 2 jobs, who doesn’t need more $$ bills either. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarlaB Posted April 18, 2018 Author Share Posted April 18, 2018 6 hours ago, kand said: If it’s not getting better in a few days, don’t take urgent care’s word there’s no fracture. We’re 0/3 for urgent care correctly diagnosing fractures in our family. Each time sent home with a diagnosis of “contusion” or “strain”. Sometimes it’s not their fault, as they don’t always show up on x-ray immediately. Boo.A friend said the same thing. But.....I’ve had 3 different fractures in the other foot- and going with my instinct that it’s prob not broken. It isn’t horribly worse this AM and should be throbbing a lot more If it was a fracture. Granted, 15 years ago was my most recent break and I’ve had childbirth and knee surgery since. And my pain threshold is still high. But it’s def not a 5th metatarsal injury it would be a fourth. Ive broken 5th in mid foot and it swelled up ridiculously on the side of my foot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livetoread Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 I had a similar injury when a table I was carrying sideways suddenly opened and fell on my foot. I looked down and saw my foot discolor and bloom up within seconds. It was freaky. I elevated and iced it and was back on it way sooner than I expected given how nasty it looked. I hope your injury turns out likewise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsmith Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 If anything it may look and feel worse in 3 days. We deal with a lot of falls here and the 3rd day is always the most painful, and the hematomas always take at least 1 1/2 weeks to start looking better. Granted my in-laws are older than you, but I often find any kind of injury is always worse on the 3rd day, even for the younger people in the household. That is a lot of swelling. I don't necessarily trust these urgent care places. If the swelling doesn't go down in a few days I would make an appointment with an orthopedist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Governess Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 Ouch! You might also want to put some arnica cream on it. It really does help with pain and bruising. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarlaB Posted April 18, 2018 Author Share Posted April 18, 2018 OP here with update... I’m almost positive it isn’t a fracture. I would have expected it to be significantly worse this AM I’d it was, and it’s the same or slightly better. I can put a little weight on my heel and can get around a bit whereas yesterday it was throbbing so bad even hopping hurt. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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