Metatarsal Fracture Health Video

A metatarsal fracture is a very painful break of a main bone in your foot. Learn more about what it is and how to treat it in this medical video clip.

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Immobilize the foot
Have surgery
Wear shoe supports
Wear a cast

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Medical Director Thomas Clanton, M.D., is also professor in the department of orthopedic surgery at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston. Board certified since 1984, Dr. Clanton is a former president of the Texas Society for Sports Medicine. Associate editor of Foot and Ankle International, he is widely published and lectures throughout the United States, Mexico, Japan and Europe.Dr. Clanton currently serves on the Board of Councilors of the International Federation of Foot and Ankle Surgeons. Dr, Clanton has been a team physician for the Rice University Athletic Department since 1982, as well as being a team orthopedist for the Houston Texans since 2001 and head team physician for the Houston Rockets since 2005.

DR. THOMAS CLANTON: Metatarsal fractures are traumatic injuries that occur to a specific bone within the foot. This bone runs from the mid-arch of the foot out to the toes. There are five of them. So there is metatarsal one, two, three, four and five. And you can fracture one, two or all five. They usually occur from traumatic injuries. You also see stress fractures to this particular bone. Injuries can be prevented by wearing shoes that are more supportive, having a very stiff sole shoe or having a shoe with a steel plate in a work environment is often a way of preventing these fractures from occurring. That's why some job sites require special shoes in order to protect the foot. In terms of treatment, the treatment, if the bone is not out of place, is to simply immobilize it either with the use of a walking boot or through a cast application, and that can allow the bone to heal in four to six weeks, most of the time. In certain situations where the bone is completely out of place, it requires surgical treatment to realign it.

Metatarsal Fracture Health Video

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