Dancer’s Fracture
Here’s what I wrote on a typical type of fracture scenario. *This is not medical advice, this is just a paper I wrote for school during my time as a graduate student (and received and A on). I hope you enjoy it.
Patient presented is a 35 year old man with a Dancer’s Fracture. He is 5 foot 11 inches, about 200 pounds with a BMI of 26. He I believe is considered ‘flat footed’, which means his arches are lower then normal. As he stepped down off of a curb carrying two grocery bags, he didn’t see the tree root had lifted the ground, causing him to fall. He knew immediately, he had fractured his foot. His break was the 5th metatarsal at the styloid and was comminuted. Without knowing much of history and not being able to see him, I would treat him the following procedures.
Since he is considered having flat feet, that brings me first to kinetic chain dysfunction. Having flat feet can cause your body to become unstable when you walk. Kinetic chain dysfunction happens when your body becomes more at risk due to poor movement patterns of the muscular imbalances. Tight and weak muscles create insufficient motion (Pivital Motion website). Since our body is connected through muscles, bones, tendons (etc.), they all play a part in our balance. The body/muscles will overcompensate for itself, causing some muscles to tighten, which in turn, causes you to be unbalanced. There are things to improve flat feet, such as inserts for shoes. This is and isn’t an easy ‘treatment’. I say this knowing that not every type of shoe can fit these inserts and this is a lifelong ‘treatment’ that doesn’t necessarily fix the issue. I would recommend a stretch therapy such as Fascial Stretch Therapy (FST). Fascia is a connective tissue that connects organs, muscles and more to the body. Since the treatment will probably consists of crutches, he’ll be using muscles in ways he (most likely) is not used to moving. FST would also greatly help with the body after using crutches for weeks and or months. This along with physical therapy is necessary for healing the muscles around the fracture. Doing physical therapy will not only make the patient’s muscles stronger, but that in turn will make him more stable.
Nutrients play such an important role in our healing. Sometimes when people are dieting, they don’t do it in a healthy way and miss out on very important vitamins and minerals.
For supplements, I would treat with supplementing vitamins D & K, magnesium, along with calcium and collagen. Calcium and vitamin D is now the main diet intervention against osteoporosis (A.Karpouzos et al.). Vitamin D is necessary for the absorption of calcium. They have been known to help reduce fractures. Vitamin K is suggested for its use in blood coagulation (providing the patient is not on any medication such as blood thinners that would counteract this). Magnesium plays many crucial roles in the body, such as supporting muscle and nerve function and energy production (Mayo Clinic Website). Magnesium is a mineral that's crucial to the body's function. Magnesium also helps with keeping bones strong (WebMD). Collagen is found in the skin, connective tissue, cartilage and in bones. Collagen becomes fragmented over time and the production slows (Kubala).
Finally, since his BMI was 26, this puts him overweight, I would suggest to see a nutritionist. I would rather suggest a nutritionist over just saying to lose weight because 1) he may not know how to diet properly (as many do not), and this way, he may be able to come off of supplements as he would now be eating the foods rich in what his body needs.
References
A.Karpouzos, E.Diamantis, P.Farmaki, S.Savvanis, T.Troupis “Nutritional Aspects of Bone
Kubala, Jillian MS,RD “What Is Collagen, and What Is It Good For?” Healthline website (Collagen: Benefits, Side Effects, and More (healthline.com), 2022, Feb 9
Health and Fracture Healing” J Osteoporos. 2017; 2017: 4218472. Published online 2017 Dec 31.
Pivotal Motion (website Strengthening the Kinetic Chain for Injury Prevention | Pivotal Motion)
Mayo Clinic ‘Healthy Lifestyle’ “Nutrition and Healthy Eating (website Pros and cons of taking a magnesium supplement - Mayo Clinic), 2021 Aug 11
WebMD- R. Morgan Griffin (website Magnesium Supplements: Benefits, Deficiency, Dosage, Effects, and More (webmd.com), 2022, Nov 15
I wrote on a typical type of fracture known as Dancer’s Fracture. The client did this as they were stepping off a curb, and were already a little off balance by carrying bags.
*Again, this is not medical advice, just papers I wrote for my master’s degree (and got all A’s on my papers).