To think that this should not still be this painful?

[Onionbhajisandwich]

Hi all,

Back in the summer (early July) I fell down a few steps in the garden and sustained what turned out to be a fracture of my heel. The injury was initially missed at my local hospital. I believed at the time that the injury was within my ankle, although this wasn’t x rayed only my foot was. I was sent away with a tubigrip and no crutches. I couldn’t physically put any weight on my foot so I crawled on my hands and knees until I was able to borrow crutches from a neighbour. whilst I didn’t have crutches, I slipped in the bath, causing the injury to throb so I went for another x ray which I was told would be reviewed as there was a question mark over it. 3 weeks later the hospital wrote to me to confirm that I had fractured my heel but basically it was too late to do much and to use a tubigrip and walk on it minimally but keep moving it.

I’m almost 5 month months post injury now and it’s still incredibly painful. I’ve just been to do the weekly shop and I’m having to sit with my foot up because I have pain all along the side of my foot, into my ankle and around the back of my ankle.

I didn’t want to waste the GP’s time of this is normal after an injury - I’ve never done anything like this before but Christ it’s making me miserable being in this much pain everyday 😖

AIBU to think that this is not right or do these things take forever to heal?? (I’m only 41 btw and otherwise fit and healthy)

Anyone? 😳

Hi OP, I'm not an expert but that doesn't sound right at all. I think you need to go back to the GP and explain how much pain you're in and how much it's impacting your life. Maybe write some notes before you go to the doctor eg is the pain waking you at night, is it stopping you from doing daily life tasks etc. If you can, maybe rate the pain on a scale of 1 - 10, 1 being the least pain and 10 being the worst pain imaginable. Make it clear to the GP that it's really affecting your life and you can't continue like this.
Good luck OP, it sounds really tough!

Five months is too long. I would get another appointment because your injury might be more complex than originally thought.

Your experience sounds awful OP and I don't think you would be wasting your GP's time at all. Living with that level of pain is uncalled-for misery.

Minor heel fractures may take 3 to 4 months to heal, and you wouldn't be expected to be able to bear weight on that foot or resume normal activities for at least that long.

But more severe heel fractures can take up to 2 years to properly heal! Please see your doctor - you deserve and need to know what exactly is going on.

Take care and all the best

Hi OP.

I had a severe heel fracture plus some other stuff.

You may have damaged other stuff - soft tissue, nerves etc during the accident. It would be definitely worth getting your case reviewed by the GP.

It's possible that you might have peripheral neuropathy as a result - do you have any problems moving the foot, or any peculiar sensations or is it just (just!) pain?

@Octavia64 my foot will move in some directions ok, but it’s still stiff going side to side. There’s no pins and needles or odd sensations, but it wakes me up at night if I move and it catches on the covers.

I wonder whether there’s tendon or ligament damage that’s taking its time to heal?

When you say you have pain when it catches on the covers, what do you mean? Is it the covers touching that hurts it?

It’s not if it touches the covers, it’s if I move in the night and it catches while I’m moving that causes a sharp pain.

Ok, if you have movement and no peculiar sensations probably no nerve problems.

What painkillers do you have?

Just paracetamol and ibuprofen. I don’t really like taking anything stronger (although I had to when I originally did it).

You've not noticed any skin changes in the area, colour or texture, or if it feels very cold? If it feels hypersensitive it could point to some sort of nerve damage

This springs to mind. My foot has never been the same since I damaged the ligaments with a fall. Although your pain does sound extreme and I would probably get it looked at.

Do you have a minor injuries centre who could x-ray it? You might even need a CT scan of it.

You might have done further damage by walking on the foot- depends what sort of fracture it was.

https://www.cuh.nhs.uk/patient-information/calcaneal-fracture/

Go back to the GP, I had quite a few injuries on tendons and ligaments, they do take forever to heal, but what you describe it’s not a normal healing process
see if your practice has a physio, I recently discovered my practice has a visiting one (every week) - a physio would help
yoy do need a professional to look at it

SEE A GP IF

• heel pain is severe or stopping you doing normal activities
• the pain is getting worse or keeps coming back
• the pain has not improved after treating it at home for 2 weeks
• you have any tingling or loss of sensation in your foot
• you have diabetes and have heel pain – foot problems can be more serious if you have diabetes

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/foot-pain/heel-pain/

I fractured my humerus and it wasn’t picked up by the NHS for six years had endless, problems with pain in the area since then, ranging from mild to excruciating and presumably not helped by being given a list of exercises to do when I first visited the GP at the time of the fracture. I’ve had to push and push and jump through so many hoops to be taken seriously, and was reluctantly offered an MRI in March this year. Even since the report came back, six months after I had the scan, they haven’t bothered to follow it up with me.

Definitely go back to the GP, as I will be doing when I have time. I’d think the sooner you get treatment the better.

I have just had an x ray for a posible brocken finger they say there is no break what is the chances there is one but it is just is not visible on the x ray

You should've been given crutches from the offset. I broke my heel and it does take ages, it needs to be elevated. You definitely should not be doing any lifting, shopping, much weight bearing, never mind a weekly shop. Can you get a supermarket delivery?
Definitely go back to your fracture consultant.