Pain
Pain is at the forefront of the symptoms of a metatarsal fracture. In addition to pain, swelling and bruising of the foot are typical for the injury. It can happen that immediately after the fracture, no pain is perceived for a short time due to the stress reaction caused by the fracture.
However, as a rule, this pain inevitably occurs after some time. Typically, the pain occurs especially when the affected foot is loaded and is triggered by even the slightest pressure on the foot. The pain can be treated with certain painkillers.
These can be given orally or applied to the vein. Careful pain management is an important part of the treatment of a metatarsal fracture. The occurrence of pain is also common after therapy.
This is not necessarily related to the success of the treatment. For example, load-dependent pain can occur especially after removal of a plaster cast. Complete freedom from pain, even with full weight bearing of the metatarsus, is sometimes only achieved after several months. However, if the pain is very severe and possibly accompanied by other symptoms, a possible complication of the treatment should be excluded.
Swelling
In addition to severe, stress-related pain and bruising, swelling of the soft tissues of the foot is typical of a metatarsal fracture. In medicine, such swelling is also referred to as traumatic edema. It occurs because the application of force damages not only the bone but also soft tissues.
The swelling is caused by increased blood circulation and the leakage of fluid from the vessels. The swelling of the metatarsus can be treated by elevating and cooling the foot. In general, however, in order to achieve an optimal course of the disease, the fracture should be clarified by a doctor and receive comprehensive professional treatment.
Diagnostics
In many cases, the medical history, description of the accident and a conventional X-ray image from the front (anterior-posterior) as well as laterally oblique are sufficient for diagnosis. If an extensive comminuted fracture of the metatarsals is suspected, a computer tomogram (CT) can provide more precise information about the extent of the accident.Pure ligament or muscle injuries should be excluded from these images, since a specific therapy is only possible with an exact diagnosis.
