# Apparently the Heel Bone is a Bad Thing To Break **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 6, 2011, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-the-heel-bone-is-a-bad-thing-to-break/581016 "2011-05-06T22:10:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![2gigch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2gigch1/32/3313_2.png) [@2gigch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2gigch1)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-the-heel-bone-is-a-bad-thing-to-break/581016/1 "2011-05-06T22:10:51Z")
As I have discovered this week. My ladder collapsed underneath me as I was climbing on the roof. Until it happens to you it comes a shock how quick gravity takes over. After I hit the ground I rolled and placed my legs against the house. I gave myself a 5 second assessment then yelled for my wife who was on the back of the property. Ten minutes later a pair of very kind paramedics were on the scene and I got packaged for the hospital. Once there the staff was nice & since I have done this before (with much worse injuries) I knew what to expect and wasn’t concerned by any wait time or anything. The ER Doc gave me 2 500/5 Vicodins for pain relief, which I felt but surprisingly still felt a fair amount of pain in the foot. He told me since the area has little room for swelling, painkillers ‘don’t actually get rid of that pain, they will just distract you.’ As a guy who has had more than a few kidney stones I didn’t find that encouraging news. Same leg I broke in 2008 and 1987. Pretty sure it means surgery. Anyway, don’t break your heel bone kids! It’s worse than you might think. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-the-heel-bone-is-a-bad-thing-to-break/581016/2 "2011-05-06T23:05:58Z")
Ooh, a calcaneus fracture? My orthopod friend says that’s about the most painful bone to break. My patients who have suffered such a fate support his opinion. Good luck with that. Besides pain meds, distraction (like watching TV, surfing the web, and meditating) can provide a lot of relief. ---
**Author:** ![surrounded\_by\_literalists](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8baadc/32.png) [@surrounded\_by\_literalists](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/surrounded_by_literalists)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-the-heel-bone-is-a-bad-thing-to-break/581016/3 "2011-05-06T23:12:15Z")
Ice and Elevate! Your not walking on it are you? I have had two kids break bones in the last six months. The docs at the ER are 0/2 with us. \*\*Kid #3 \*\*got her foot caught in a loop of dog cable as the dog ran after a tennis ball. ER doc said it was ‘just a flesh wound’. 5 hrs later we get a call from the radiologist. Yeah, we think we can see a small break, go the orthopedist. 2.5 weeks later orthopedists say, 'Um, Yeah, It’s broken. 4 bones out of 5 in her foot are broken. Lets put her in a cast. Kid #2 Landed on his wrist sliding into third base (safe!) ER doc again says, “it’s just a flesh wound”. Three weeks and mucho pain later, his primary care doc says, “Um, yeah, its broken in two places. He should have been in a full arm cast” I get to pay them $500 dollars for each visit for the privlige ---
**Author:** ![surrounded\_by\_literalists](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8baadc/32.png) [@surrounded\_by\_literalists](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/surrounded_by_literalists)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-the-heel-bone-is-a-bad-thing-to-break/581016/4 "2011-05-06T23:16:09Z")
Sorry to whine. Sorry about gravity just taking over like that. I get so mad at gravity sometimes. SCREW GRAVITY! ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-the-heel-bone-is-a-bad-thing-to-break/581016/5 "2011-05-06T23:47:43Z")
Yowch. I’ve seen a couple of calcaneous repairs in the OR. If they do fix yours, ask to see the x-rays afterward. They’re kinda cool. ---
**Author:** ![2gigch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2gigch1/32/3313_2.png) [@2gigch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2gigch1)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-the-heel-bone-is-a-bad-thing-to-break/581016/6 "2011-05-07T01:29:27Z")
That particular leg has a 47cm rod in the femur from 2008, and a plate with 8 screws and a bolt below the knee from 1987. More hardware in the leg will not surprise me. And yeah, my wife & I looked up the injury on the web… I am expecting the worst. For distraction it’s TV, websurfing, home office work and Civilization IV. Heaven forbid I crack a book too. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-the-heel-bone-is-a-bad-thing-to-break/581016/7 "2011-05-07T01:39:22Z")
How did you break your leg before? ---
**Author:** ![2gigch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2gigch1/32/3313_2.png) [@2gigch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2gigch1)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-the-heel-bone-is-a-bad-thing-to-break/581016/8 "2011-05-07T01:46:19Z")
1987 motorcycle vs Hyundai, I lost. 2008 slipped on wet ground at a medieval event. I really have an appreciation for modern medicine I tells ya! ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-the-heel-bone-is-a-bad-thing-to-break/581016/9 "2011-05-07T01:54:33Z")
> [@2gigch1](#): > > More hardware in the leg will not surprise me. Might lead to a Really Cool ‘Mad-Max’ Halloween costume though. 😃 (too soon?) ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-the-heel-bone-is-a-bad-thing-to-break/581016/10 "2011-05-07T02:34:41Z")
> [@2gigch1](#): > > 2008 slipped on wet ground at a medieval event. You’re lucky they didn’t drag you in to the barber for a quick amputation. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-the-heel-bone-is-a-bad-thing-to-break/581016/11 "2011-05-07T02:38:57Z")
Which ones are the good bones to break? ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-the-heel-bone-is-a-bad-thing-to-break/581016/12 "2011-05-07T03:29:49Z")
Baby toes and ribs are pretty good to break… if you have to break a bone, that is. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-the-heel-bone-is-a-bad-thing-to-break/581016/13 "2011-05-07T05:05:22Z")
I sympathize. My dad fell off a ladder last November and did the same thing to his foot (the same he broke about 15+ years ago) and he’s still going through physio and they are talking fusing his ankle bone. Could have been a lot worse though. Hope you heal well and quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-the-heel-bone-is-a-bad-thing-to-break/581016/14 "2011-05-07T05:25:56Z")
Been there, done that, got the pain in the foot to prove it. Mine was my left foot. A non-displaced fracture. Doctor said that surgery was an option, but showed me a study where the successful outcome from surgery and non-surgery are the same (50/50 IIRC). then he showed me photos and x-rays of the surgery. Looks like they picked up some stuff at home depot (drywall screws and Stanley repair metal) and went to town with a DeWalt screw gun. Primitive. We went the no surgery route. I went into physical therapy 5 days after the break. The doctor said that aggressive PT would get me on my feet sooner. I went through 3 physical therapists before I found one that had a similar idea of aggressive as I did. I was weight bearing in 5 weeks and I was walking in about 6 weeks. I have almost full range of motion in that ankle, and have finally gotten to the point where I don’t have daily pain. Good luck to you, if I can offer any further info about my break, feel free to ask. Rick ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-the-heel-bone-is-a-bad-thing-to-break/581016/15 "2011-05-08T00:15:40Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Which ones are the good bones to break? Apparently, the clavicle isn’t so bad if it’s a clean break! My SIL broke hers last week (she and my sis locked themselves out of their house; she was trying to climb in through the window to let them in, and instead of _climbing_ in the window, she _fell_ in the window; cue the ER). Because it was a clean break, though, all she has to do is keep her right arm immobilized, and it should heal just fine, even though she’s well over 50 now. OP, sorry to hear this happened! Yikes! My general experience (as another chronic kidney stone sufferer) has been that many opiates don’t so much alleviate the pain as just make you not care as much! Hope you feel better soon! ---
**Author:** ![2gigch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2gigch1/32/3313_2.png) [@2gigch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2gigch1)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-the-heel-bone-is-a-bad-thing-to-break/581016/16 "2011-05-08T00:32:04Z")
Trying not to overdo the happy pills. Went into this with a good attitude but the implications of my injury are beginning to daunt me; work, things I need to do, etc. I didn’t need a long term injury the day after a new and immediate supervisor starts at work. Oh well, compared to others I can’t complain. There are a lot bigger problems out there to have to deal with. Thanks all for the good wishes. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-the-heel-bone-is-a-bad-thing-to-break/581016/17 "2011-05-08T00:43:15Z")
Ouch! Sending out a wish of a speedy recovery. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-the-heel-bone-is-a-bad-thing-to-break/581016/18 "2011-05-08T22:37:32Z")
Take stool softeners with your painkillers. Trust me on this one. ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-the-heel-bone-is-a-bad-thing-to-break/581016/19 "2011-05-08T23:38:36Z")
Plus fiber and lots and lots of water. Trust Drain Bead on this one. Seriously. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-the-heel-bone-is-a-bad-thing-to-break/581016/20 "2011-05-09T03:02:27Z")
I’ve done that. I have several screws and bolts in my heal/ankle now. I don remember the break itself aspainful. I remember the recovery being long and painful. Even now, 10 years later, I have to wear a brace and take ibuprofen if I’m going to do anything athletic. If I didn’t, I expect the swelling would start causing more damage and I would wind up on the operating able. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-the-heel-bone-is-a-bad-thing-to-break/581016.md?page=2)