Fractures of the calcaneus are relatively rare. They arise, as a rule, because of a fall from a height or squeezing during an accident. The consequences of fracture of the calcaneus are quite unfavorable, flat feet, deforming arthrosis, valgus deformation of the foot and, in more rare cases, osteoporosis may develop. To prevent this from happening, you need to take the right treatment for the fracture of the calcaneus, which requires a detailed preliminary examination of the injury.
Fracture of calcaneus - symptoms
First of all, after trauma, if it is a closed fracture, a person feels that he can not rely on the foot because of pain.
When the fracture is open, the wound is obvious, and this is the main symptom by which a fracture outside the hospital is diagnosed: in this case the tissue is damaged, bleeds, and bone fragments can be observed.
A closed fracture "speaks" about itself by an expansion of the heel, valgus and varus deformity, and an edema is observed at the site of the injury and a hematoma can occur. Walking is difficult at the same time as the heel tendon stretches.
At the same time, a closed fracture is dangerous because with minor damage and a blurred pattern of symptoms, the victim may not suspect that his bone is broken, considering it a severe bruise and because of this do not seek help. Therefore, first of all after a strong blow to the heel area, if there is swelling and pain when walking, you must always do x-rays.
How to treat a fracture of the calcaneus?
If there was a fracture of the calcaneus with a displacement, then first of all do local anesthesia (usually used novocaine) and with the help of manual adjustment on a wooden wedge put the deformed fragments in place. If the reposition is not done and simply impose a cast, then there is a high probability of further development of muscle atrophy and have a restriction in the movement of the ankle.
In cases where the fracture occurred without bias, the limb is fixed to the knee joint. The patient must walk with crutches, and a slight load on the forefoot is allowed only after 4 weeks.
Removal of gypsum in the absence of complications occurs approximately after 1.5 months, after which the rehabilitation period begins, during which the patient must engage in physical therapy and conduct physiotherapy.
If the recovery and splicing is poor, then the patient is offered an orthosis for calcaneus fractures: he is a lightweight version of gypsum and is used in the intermediate stage, between treatment and rehabilitation. It helps to relieve the burden on the bone and at the same time it does not allow atrophy of the muscles, reduces swelling and shortens the rehabilitation time.
Recovery after a fracture of the calcaneus takes about 3 months with regard to treatment and rehabilitation: it is through such an amount of time that it is possible to return to the old way of life and exert full load on the damaged foot if there are no complications.
Rehabilitation after a fracture of the calcaneus
Rehabilitation plays a very important role in the fracture of the calcaneus bone, because the risk that the stop will not function the same as before is great. Very many people without getting the right treatment
First of all, you need to bend and unbend the leg in the knee, and each time increase the load to bring the muscles into tone gradually. Another exercise is flexion and extension of the toes, which should be started a few days after the start of exercise therapy.
To stretch the foot, take the jar and roll it back and forth: first, pain can be felt, but with moderate load after a few days the pain will pass. Also for the restoration of feet and shins massage is effective.