Confused about fracture?

[FlapjackStan]

Good evening all,

I went to A&E a few days ago after hurting my foot. I was told by A&E staff that I have an avulsion fracture and fracture clinic will follow up. Was given crutches and boot as I was unable to walk on foot.

Fracture clinic discharged me to physio.
On their discharge clinic it says:
-Diagnosis: avulsion fracture to L foot
-Assessment: No obvious signs of fracture.

I don’t want to come across as a bit thick here. But are they treating it as if it’s a fracture? But couldn’t see any visible signs? Or I don’t have a fracture at all? Why would staff at A&E say I do?

Avulsion fractures are treated as soft tissue injuries, even though they do involve a tiny fragment of bone. Basically the ligament tears a fragment of bone off, but it’s usually so minuscule that they don’t treat the fracture itself.

I’ve had them before, they just get treated with rest, ice and elevation etc.

As Jif says. Also they really fucking hurt if you've also damaged the ligament in question - which you usually do else it wouldn't have torn off a bit of bone. Keep the ibuprofen handy and be prepared to do a lot of physio for a year or two :(

Ahh makes sense as to why they couldn’t really see much fracture on the x-ray.
How long does the ligaments take to heal? And is it worth getting an MRI to see the extent of the damage? I can barely weight bare.