Broke Calcaneus, Have Swelling And Pain In Heel And Toenail When Weight Is Put On It. Further?

Posted on Fri, 23 Aug 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sat, 24 Aug 2013 Answered on

Thu, 12 Sep 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : I broke my calcaneus 73 days ago. I jumped when I shouldn't have jumped. No surgery. Non-weight bearing for 34 days and it took 2 weeks before I could put away the crutches (day 48). I am walking with a lurch, not just a limp, but a lurch. There may be mis-allignment of my sub-talar joint. Still have a lot of swelling and pain in my heel when I put weight on it. There is also a stabbing pain in the toe-ball when I put weight on it and a lot of discomfort in the ankle. I have a picture of the x-ray that I can send and pictures. Can't see where to attach them. I am trying to be patient and stretch it and swim as often as I can and walk some. I'll go into my doctor next week. What should I ask him? Should I ask for an MRI?

Answered by Dr. Saurabh Gupta (5 hours later)

Brief Answer:
You can ask for repeat x-ray / CT scan

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

Thanks for your query.

Continue doing stretching and physiotherapy exercises. After fracture calcaneum swelling and heal pain is common even after healing of fracture. As you had said that there is misalignment of subtalar joint, this might be cause of your present problem.

On your next visit to your doctor you can ask for repeat x-ray / CT scan.

I do hope that you have found something helpful and I will be glad to answer any further query.

Regards,

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T

Follow up: Dr. Saurabh Gupta (1 hour later)

What can I do so I get the best possible outcome? Will I be able to walk normally again? Hike? Snow ski? I attached a picture of my most recent xray to my profile. Can you tell anything from that?

Answered by Dr. Saurabh Gupta (8 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Kindly upload the X-ray picture again.

Detailed Answer:
Hi, I am not able to see the x-ray picture you had attached. There may have been a problem while uploading. Kindly upload it again so that I can help you in better ways.
You can alternatively mail the pictures to YYYY@YYYY with subject as "Attn: Dr. Saurabh Gupta".

Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad