Navicular Fractures

[apsully]

For the past 3 months, I've been in a cast and on crutches. I had the cast taken off, supposabely for good, on wednesday. Yesterday afternoon, my doctor called me with catscan results of my left foot. He said that the fracture was actually worse that it had been when I got the cast on the first time.

I'll be getting surgery next week sometime on my foot. The surgeon is going to rebreak my navicular and then put 2 titanium screws in. I will then be in a cast for 2-3 months, and have an estimated 2 months of physical therapy after that. My senior season is now completely destroyed, one of which many people had high (17-2) hopes for.

My purpose in telling you all this is not to get sympathy from you, but to warn you.

If you have pain on the top side of your foot, just beyond your ankle, get an appointment with a podiatrist immediately. In most cases, there is a distinct loading and unloading pain every step you take. Personally, the pain for me was worse walking than it was running, but that was due mainly to adrenaline.

7 months ago, I experienced a mild pain in the location mentioned above, so I went to my doctor. He told me it was tendonitis and prescribed me some 800mg motrin. I stayed off of my foot (on crutches) for a week, just as he had told me. The next meet, the pain became nearly disabilitating. I went back to the same doctor and he, yet again, told me that it was tendonitis. I then saw a so-called specialist and got the same answer. 4 months later the pain was still really affecting my daily life, so I saw yet another specialist. This time an MRI was ordered (which took 4 weeks to schedule). The doctor found the fracture and had me wear a protective boot and use crutches for 4 weeks. Came back and he told me it was magically healed and to start walking on it. Pain returned once again and he said, "you need a CT scan because I have no idea what's wrong".

After the last comforting exerience, I met with the surgeon who reviewed my 1st CT scan. He insisted that I try the cast option first, instead of goin ahead with surgery. After 4 weeks, I got a new cast put on. At that appointment, he wouldn't agree to so much as xray my foot. After that, my story unfolds to the present.


My point is this: If you have even a little bit of pain in the above described area of your foot, order your doctor to get you either a CT scan or an MRI. Xrays are, unfortunately, useless for this type of fracture. You have to actively insist that you won't leave until the doctor orders a referral for you to have a ct/mri scheduled. Once they do give you the results and their opinion of the best form of action, make sure to get at least 2 more opinions from different doctors (preferabely sports specialists). I can't emphasize enough the importance of being pro-active, possibly even borderline annoying in a process like this. One more thing- Whatever you do, don't try and rush the healing process with this type of fracture. It's just a fact of life that there are 4 bones in the human body that you don't wanna break. The navicular is one of them.

I wish the best of luck to anyone who has this same injury and I commend those who have already conqured it.

Your prayers are welcome and appreciated.

[fastpich19]

Dude that sucks, are you gonna vault in college.

[bvpv07]

After going through the same thing, plus ocd lesions, I can say that I definitely feel for you. For over a year, my doctors (many, many, many of them) had no idea what was wrong. I must have tried half a dozen different types of orthotics and spent every night icing my feet. Their theory was to vault until it hurt (you know something's wrong when it hurts to stand) and then not vault or run until it stopped hurting again. Each time that I came in telling them that it was just getting worse, they had no idea why. The first x-ray showed nothing, the first bone scan showed a fracture in one foot, subsequent mris showed them and the lesions in both.

Don't rush coming back because, most likely, it's just going to put you back where you started. There's a point where you have to realize the pain that you're in and consider what it's telling you. For me, no matter how much pain I was in, I would feel nothing (or almost nothing) when I was on the runway...however, the second I was done with my vault and off of the pits, it would come back with a vengeance that almost made me feel sick. Even if it means giving up vaulting for a time, you have to realize that even being able to vault your last high school season is not worth screwing up your feet for the rest of your life.

Good luck and don't give up hope! It will heal eventually, but you just have to give it [a lot] of time.

[apsully]

Yes I'm vaulting in college.

Bvpv's description of the pain is right on. I think in most cases, since it usually gets misdiagnosed several times, the vaulter in question just learns to deal with the pain. I was actually thinking about this earlier today. I don't think I could even describe the amount of pain im in just walking around for the past 2 days. I can say that because I've delt with it for about 7 months, I have learned to put it out of my mind.

Don't worry about me rushing my recovery. I know what I have to do, and the amount of time it'll take to do it. I'm going to take every possible precaution when I start PT and then again when i begin training.

I just really wanted to put this out there to warn my fellow vaulters of this horrid type of injury. I wouldn't wish this fate upon Lucifer himself and if there's anything I can do to help prevent people from getting as far along as Bvpv and I, then I will sure as hell do it.

[newPVer]

sorry to hear that man. good luck with the recovery.

[apsully]

Thanks alot man.

[theczar]

was the pain in your jump foot? I have a mild pain similar to the one you describe, but it is on my left (my non-jump foot), which I found strange.

[polevaulter08nw]

so where you going for college?

[apsully]

theczar: Yah, the pain was/is in my jump foot. That doesn't mean you should disregard it however. Anyone who is in a sport where sprinting is a major aspect can succumb to this injury. I'd suggest you keep a very close eye on that. If it were me, I'd go see my podiatrist asap.


polevaulter08nw: I signed in November with Cal State Fullerton on a vault scholarship (50%). I can't tell you how relieved I am for signing early; If I hadn't done that, I'd be in a giant pile of.......(insert proverbial term).

[polevaulter08nw]

hah, yeah, i remember the forum about that. good luck to ya with your recvery and coming back next year for college.

[vault3rb0y]

Hey man ill pray for you. I know how tedious and scarey injuries can be when you dont really know whats wrong or how long it will take to recover. But at least now you are fully educated, and can look forward to cal fullerton to next. Just try to focus on that, and realize that now that you are informed, nothing like this should happen again. Im still praying for you, take it easy man, and i really appreciate you informing all us younger jumpers about the injury to help us prevent or treat it. Good luck!

[hallvaulter]

.... It's just a fact of life that there are 4 bones in the human body that you don't wanna break. The navicular is one of them...

Just curious, what are the other 3?