Stress Fracture in Toddler

Are you worried it isn't healing properly? Or is it more of you are worrying he'll have to "re-learn" how to walk?

It hasn't even been 10 days yet. I would give him a little more time. There's no rush. I doubt you'll have to "work with him" to get him back walking, once the fracture is healed. He might still have a little discomfort that he just would rather not feel...and not standing/walking on it too much lets him not feel that. As soon as he doesn't have any pain from using it, I'm sure he'll be right back at things.

If he still isn't doing any walking when you go back on the 16th, ask the doctor about it. And go ahead and ask him then anyway, about ANY questions you have. Write them down before you go, so you don't forget... forgetting your questions is easy to do when you have kiddos with you and the doctor is in a rush... Jot them down as you think of them (like now) and keep the list in your purse. Pull it out when you get to the doctor's office/treatment room.

I bruised my knee when I fell ice-skating just before Christmas. I avoided walking or doing anything weight bearing (that I COULD avoid) for several days. And when I did try to do more, I was a little cautious. And sometimes doing a little more, made it a little more sore for the next 6-8 hours or so... so I stayed off it in stretches. Your son is no different. He will try what he is willing to tolerate (aches/pains wise) and then stop when he feels something uncomfortable. And standing some may increase his discomfort over the following hours for a bit. I wouldn't rush it.
And next time make sure they remove the shoes on the slide. ;)

in my experience, stress fractures hurt just like a full break...& take 4-6 weeks to heal. All of the stress fractures we've had in the foot....have either been aircasted or braced. I'm a little surprised that the foot is not immobilized.

When my DH tore his Achilles tendon, he could not stoop, bend his foot, kneel....in addition to limping with walking. The dr finally put him in an aircast to protect the healing. Oh, & he used crutches. The original instructions had been to "just wear a shoe & try to protect the foot". Total B.S.! There was no way to slow down my DH! Hope this helps....

OH, & I'd much rather be very proactive with protected healing than delay/prolong the event. :)

I have had many, many stress fractures. They take a while to heal and they really, really hurt. My son and I have brittle bone disease, so we have had quite a few broken bones. I remember my son's ortho telling me his bones will heal much faster than mine.

I think I would hold off on the weight bearing until the stress fracture is completely healed. The thing about stress fractures is that they can fully break, especially if you can see it on x-ray. My stress fractures usually showed up on a bone scan, and if they were particularly bad, they would show up on x-ray.

Now, I'm not a doctor. I'm just speaking from experience. I would say see an pediatric orthopedist to be on the safe side. Fractures are nothing to play around with! They hurt!

I also suggest it will take 4-6 weeks. My granddaughter had a stress fracture immediately above her ankle when she was a toddler. Like for you it was not really visible in an x-ray. The orthopedic doctor said there was no need to protect it with a cast or boot. It was safe for her to walk when she wanted to do so. For her, she was up and about in a couple of days.