Navicular bone fracture

I tore the navicular bone in my left wrist and didn't even realize it for three whole months. Everything felt fine—no swelling, no pain. It wasn't until about 90 days later that it started aching whenever I pressed down hard on a surface. Obviously, I couldn't just throw a cast on it, so I had to go under the knife. Things are great now, though; almost done with physical therapy. But now, life's throwing me a curveball. I took a fall on my right hand a few days ago, what a joke. I’ve got this tiny, barely noticeable ache when I lean on it too hard. I'm hoping it's just irritation, but maybe I should get an X-ray before things escalate. I just can't catch a break with these bones. What do you guys think? Am I looking at surgery again, or can we hopefully just stick to a cast this time?

There isn't much point in debating this further since there's nothing concrete to go on. Without an X-ray, any discussion is just guesswork. I wish you all the best anyway.

I ended up fracturing my left ankle's navicular bone, so I was wondering what kind of surgical approach you all went through, how long the actual procedure took, and how much rehab I should brace myself for?
Also, what’s the specific method they use—is it a nerve-related approach or something else entirely?
I saw some doctors here in Canada, but they just can't guarantee a successful outcome, so I'm curious if getting treated in the States would be a better or safer bet...
If anyone could provide a bit more detail on this, I'd really appreciate it!

Hi there.
I noticed there’s already a similar thread floating around, though it’s been quite a while since it was posted.

Exactly a week ago, I ended up breaking my navicular bone in my wrist.
I made sure to get everything documented, they put me in a splint, and told me to come back for a follow-up in a week. I went in for that checkup today and had more imaging done. While the fracture is clearly visible on the scans, my doctor seems to suspect that maybe another small bone might have shifted out of place as well. If I can actually manage to get an appointment, I should be heading in for an MRI in a few days just to get a definitive look at what we're dealing with.
I was wondering, if it turns out to be just the navicular fracture, would they just go with a cast?
And if that other little bone has moved too, would that mean surgery is on the table?
-I'm also curious about how safe those procedures are and what the potential long-term effects might be...

Hey there. So, back in August, I ended up breaking the navicular bone in my foot. I was stuck in a cast for about three weeks, but the whole recovery process dragged on way longer than it should have because the doctors didn't even spot the fracture right away. Total headache. But, everything is finally looking good now!
Wishing you a super speedy recovery!

Hey, did you end up getting that MRI done?
It really all depends on how bad the break is—either you’ll be in a cast or heading into surgery, and the MRI will tell us for sure. If it's a cast, they'll have to wrap your thumb, and you'll be stuck in it for a while, maybe up to 14 weeks depending on the fracture.

Carl Lewis53 said:Hi everyone!
I see there’s already a similar thread—it's just quite an old one.

Exactly a week ago, I fractured my scaphoid bone in my wrist.
Everything was X-rayed, they put me in a cast, and told me to come back for a follow-up in a week. I went in today for that check-up and took more images. The fracture is clearly visible, but the doctor suspects another tiny bone might have shifted out of place too. I should be getting an MRI soon—assuming I can actually get an appointment—to see exactly what we're dealing with.
I'm curious—if it turns out to be just the scaphoid fracture, is a cast the standard way to go?
And if that other little bone has moved, would it require surgery?
Also, how safe is that procedure, and what kind of recovery should I expect?

I broke my scaphoid along with two bones in my forearm—all without displacement—about eight months ago. I was in a cast for roughly two and a half months. I'm not sure if anyone suggested this to you, but a waterproof plastic splint worked wonders for me—it's much lighter and easier to manage. My doctor mentioned at the first visit that breaking that specific small bone is pretty risky. By the second check-up, those two forearm bones had already healed, but for the scaphoid, he told me during the first month that we were still watching how the bone was knitting together—though he noted the "cloudiness" looked good and the bone wasn't drying out, so to speak.

Following the doctor's intervention, I'm heading in for an MRI... that should hopefully give them a clearer picture of what's actually going on. He mentioned that it’s going to take quite a while for that tiny bone to fully heal. Also, if this second part has shifted, considering it's already been a week since the fracture and the supposed displacement, wouldn't they have to reset it themselves? Since a week has already passed... this is my first time dealing with a break, so I'm really not an expert in any of this 🙂
And if it turns out I do need surgery, will I have to deal with carrying around screws, plates, or anything like that?

I honestly doubt any bone resetting will be necessary—in my case, there was only some slight blurring on the X-ray after a few weeks. I can't speak to your specific surgery, but looking at the scans hanging in the doctor's office, you could clearly see the two screws used for a patient who had broken one of those bones.

Evening 🙂
They sent me for a CT scan instead of an MRI, which I guess just means they're trying to save a few bucks at the clinic xD
The doctor on duty seems pretty chill about it, saying everything should be fine. He mentioned I'll need a follow-up in a few days and then they'll probably put me in a cast, which I'll likely be stuck wearing for a month or two, I suppose.
If anyone here happens to be an expert on this sort of thing, here are the results:
http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/7248/nalaz.jpg

So, you've got an oblique fracture right through the middle third of your navicular bone. Usually, for a break like that, they just go with a cast to keep everything still for about 8 to 12 weeks.

Carl Lewis53 said:Tonight 🙂
instead of an MRI, they sent me for a CT scan—clearly they’re just trying to save a buck lol
The doctor on call said everything should be fine, told me to come back for a follow-up in a few days, and they're putting me in a cast. I'll probably be stuck wearing it for a month or two...
If anyone here actually knows their stuff, here's the report:
http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/7248/nalaz.jpg

It's not about money; in your case, a CT is actually the better way to go. An MRI is great for looking at soft tissue, but for this kind of thing, you want a CT. I can't really comment on the actual results, though—that's strictly up to a trauma surgeon.

Ask them to go with the fiberglass cast. I ended up paying extra for mine at the urgent care $100 and honestly, it’s way better than the old-school plaster stuff.
It’s much lighter, plus I actually being able to hop in the shower without making a whole production out of it was a total lifesaver.

In my case, they initially put me down for an MRI, but then they told me today that they've switched things up on me..
As for that fiberglass cast idea, I suppose I'm actually pretty into it 🙂
Does anyone know if supplemental insurance covers any of that? I'm wondering if I might be able to avoid paying out of pocket for it..
And since I’m getting it anyway, I guess I should ask—can I pick out a specific color? :P

It comes in all sorts of colors too—blue, green, red, purple, black, orange, pink... you name it. Plus, it’s super lightweight and totally waterproof.

Regarding the casting tape—my contractor back in Seattle suggested I just head down to the local pharmacy and pick up three rolls: two at five centimeters wide and one at ten centimeters. The whole kit ended up costing about $40. In my experience, though—and this might be subjective—there's a massive difference between standard plaster and the synthetic stuff. It felt much better when I had them swap mine out for the plastic version during my first follow-up X-ray. The real kicker? You can actually take imaging right through the plastic without any issues.

They ended up putting me in the trauma ward, but they didn't have any colored casts in stock, and my supplemental insurance wouldn't cover the extra cost for a plastic one anyway.

Hey everyone—so, I went and broke my ankle in two places, both sides of the joint. No surgery this time, thank god, and the swelling wasn't too bad. I spent ten days in a walking boot before they slapped me into this circular cast, which I’ve been stuck in for what feels like forever (it hits the six-week mark this Tuesday). They told me to swing by for a checkup then, and hopefully, that's when the cast finally comes off. I'm just wondering... any idea how much physical therapy I'll be looking at? And more importantly, how soon can I ditch the crutches and actually walk like a normal person again? Thanks for any insight you guys have. 🙂 p.s. Is there any way I could get insurance to approve some time at a rehab resort or a spa? thx🙂

Are you talking about a bimalleolar fracture, where both the tibia and fibula are broken? Honestly, how long therapy lasts really just depends on how long you're stuck in a cast—usually, they pretty much line up. And yeah, definitely no heavy lifting or hitting the gym until everything is completely healed up.

ruggedtiger63 said:Are you talking about a bimalleolar fracture—you know, breaking both the tibia and fibula? Honestly, how long physical therapy lasts basically just depends on how long you're stuck in a cast. Usually, the rehab period is about as long as the immobilization itself. You aren't even getting back on your feet properly until everything is fully healed.

I'm not entirely sure right now—I don't have my medical paperwork sitting in front of me, so I can't really check 😢((
God, I feel like I'm going to lose my mind waiting... I actually want to get out there and work, not just spend my life sitting in PT sessions, ugh 😢((( I've got an appointment tomorrow, so I'll see what the doctor says then... uff, honestly, the whole thing is just nerve-wracking...