Broken bones or fractures in the foot are common due to all the repetitive stress the foot goes through from normal day to day activities. It can also occur from strenuous sport activities or blunt trauma such as an object falling on it. The two types of traumatic fractures are displaced and nondisplaced fractures. If a fracture is displaced that means the two fragments or pieces become separated and are no longer aligned with each other.
This makes the healing more difficult and might require surgery to realign them. A nondisplaced fracture usually will heal with just rest and taking weight off the foot. Signs and symptoms of a traumatic fracture include hearing a snap at the time of the injury, pain at the site of the injury, and swelling with bruising. Also, just because you can walk on it doesn't mean its not broken.
Unlike a traumatic fracture, a stress fracture is a tiny hairline fracture usually caused by repetitive stress. It usually affects athletes and runners. Common symptoms are pain after normal activity, pain that goes away after resting, and swelling without bruising. Rest and immobilization is usually enough to treat a stress fracture.
Because of the various types of fractures and correlating symptoms, it is best to have your foot evaluated by a podiatrist if you had a recent injury, to make sure you get the correct treatment.
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