A metatarsal stress fracture is painful, because many different muscles have an attachment to the metatarsal bones, and so when you experience a fracture or crack in the metatarsals it can feel a bit like sending a shock wave through your whole body. It is hence not surprising that people actively look to methods like physiotherapy to treat metatarsal stress fractures.
The first thing you need to be aware of is that metatarsal stress fractures are caused by continual stress being placed on the metatarsal, so this is an injury that is caused by YOU doing something, and not by an external force like a brick falling on your foot, or someone stamping on your foot (those are known as acute fractures).
This is both good news and bad. It is good news because it is never very nice to suffer an injury of any type, and trauma type injuries like acute fractures of the metatarsal are always best avoided. But it is bad news in the sense that you are causing your injuries either by a lifestyle choice (such as running or training to excess) , having a job that is exacerbating your foot problems (such as being in the armed forces, being a ballet dancer etc), or walking and running consistently in an unbalanced way which is placing extra stress on your feet (this is known as oversupination and overpronation, where you tend to walk by turning your feet inwards or outwards respectively).
Hence, while Physiotherapy can help to address the physical symptoms of your metatarsal stress fractures, it is not going to do you much good on an on-going basis unless you also modify your lifestyle, job or walking patterns in some way, so that it doesn’t re-occur.
Metatarsal Stress Fractures Physiotherapy
Some of the different physiotherapy methods that you could use to treat a metatarsal stress fracture would include:
– Massaging the soft tissue around the area
– Ensuring that the joint is fully mobile so that it can heal properly
– Applying ultrasound or electrotherapy to the foot
– Mobility devices like crutches to ensure that the patient can still move around
– Exercises that can help to promote flexibility and improve the balance and strength of the patient
– A focused plan of action that lays down mobility goals over a set period of time that ensures progress, but does not re-stress the foot.