Customer Story: I Broke My Foot in Multiple Places. Then My Recovery Took a Turn I Did Not Expect

This Pain Awareness Month, a personal account of customer, Joanna's, fifth-metatarsal fracture, a very large walking boot and the lost range.® CBD products that became part of my recovery routine.

5 weeks ago, I broke my foot while measuring a wall.

Not hiking. Not running. Not doing anything remotely adventurous. On July 25, I was standing on my bed with a tape measure when I stepped down, caught and rolled my left foot against the corner of the bed, lost my balance and landed hard on my right foot.

One awkward step. One fall. Two badly sprained ankles. Multiple fractures. One bad break.

The most significant injury was an oblique fracture of the fifth metatarsal, the long bone running along the outside of my right foot. Within hours, my foot was swollen, increasingly bruised and painful enough to turn normal life into a complicated series of calculations: How do I get across the room? How do I carry anything while using mobility equipment? How am I supposed to sleep with this enormous boot attached to my leg?

I was told to expect roughly six weeks before I could move around more normally and approximately 12 weeks before returning to my usual exercise routine. At first, even six weeks sounded optimistic. I am a very active person, annoyingly so at times. So 12 weeks of resting sounded like a prison sentence. 

Then a care package from Lost Range CBD arrived, and my recovery experience took a turn I genuinely did not expect.

One Misstep Changed Everything

There is something especially humbling about being injured during an everyday task. A few seconds earlier, I was measuring a wall. Suddenly, I was unable to walk (spraining both ankles didn't help) and looking at a foot that seemed to be changing color by the hour.

The swelling spread across the top and outside of my foot. Deep purple bruising appeared around the arch, heel and ankle. I needed a boot and mobility equipment, and the simplest parts of my routine became exhausting.

The loss of independence was almost as difficult as the injury itself. I had gone from exercising and moving through my day without thinking about it to planning every trip from one side of the room to the other.

The X-Ray Made It Real

The X-rays confirmed that this was not a minor sprain. My right foot was fractured in multiple places, with the primary concern being the oblique break through the fifth metatarsal.

Fifth-metatarsal fractures do not all follow the same path. Recovery depends on the exact location and pattern of the break, whether the bone is displaced and an individual’s overall health. Some acute, nondisplaced fifth-metatarsal fractures may heal with conservative care in approximately six to eight weeks, although the appropriate treatment and timeline vary by fracture type.¹

I was sent to two hospitals in the Chicago area. The last specialist said they "don't operate these days unless the bone is sticking out of the skin". Which surprised me as the break was twisted and fragmented.

I followed my medical provider’s instructions, protected the foot and accepted that returning to normal life would take time. I was not looking for a shortcut, and I certainly was not expecting a topical or gummy to heal a broken bone.

The lost range.® CBD Care Package

Approximately two weeks ago, I added three lost range.® products to my daily self-care routine:

• Gold Buckle® CBD Muscle & Joint Rub, applied twice daily to intact skin around the uncomfortable area and never to open wounds
• Gold Buckle® CBD Gummies, once daily
• CBD+CBN Sleep Gummies, once at night as part of my bedtime routine

The Gold Buckle® CBD Muscle & Joint Rub quickly became the product I looked forward to using most. The high-potency topical is made with CBD isolate and ingredients including menthol and camphor, which create a noticeable cooling-and-warming sensation on the skin. I massaged a thin layer gently around the area twice a day, being careful not to apply it to broken or irritated skin.

I used the Gold Buckle® CBD Gummies as part of my daytime routine to help with inflammation. At night, the CBD+CBN Sleep Gummies became part of my wind-down while I adjusted to sleeping with a large boot on my foot that I had to keep elevated. 

These are high-potency products, and this routine reflects my personal experience—not a recommendation for anyone else. Anyone considering CBD should follow the product directions, start cautiously and speak with a healthcare professional about potential medication interactions or health concerns. Lost Range provides more general information on its CBD Info & FAQs page.

“This Has to Be the Placebo Effect”

The change seemed to begin within a day.

The swelling appeared lower. The pain felt less consuming. Even the bruising seemed to be moving in the right direction... and rapidly. My first reaction was not, “This is amazing.” It was, “There is no way this is happening this quickly.” 

My husband did a double-take as he couldn't believe the difference either. 

I wondered whether it was coincidence. Maybe I had simply reached the point in the normal healing process when the swelling would have improved anyway. Maybe I wanted the products to work, and my brain was filling in the blanks. Maybe it was a placebo effect.

But the improvement did not stop after that first day.

The Difference Became Hard to Ignore

Day after day, my foot looked and felt different. The swelling continued to recede. The darkest bruising began to clear. The discomfort became easier for me to manage, and I started to feel more capable of participating in daily life. Albeit with a huge clumpy boot and the dreaded knee-scooter (which caused more injuries to my other ankle and leg, but got me from room to room quicker!).

Of the three products, I felt the Gold Buckle® CBD Muscle & Joint Rub made the most noticeable difference to my comfort. The cooling-and-warming sensation gave me an immediate feeling of localized relief, and the twice-daily application became an important ritual.

I felt that the Gold Buckle® gummies supported my overall daytime comfort, while the CBD+CBN Sleep Gummies helped me relax and sleep more comfortably despite the boot.

Can I scientifically prove which product was responsible for each change? No. A fracture naturally changes as the body heals, and several factors were at work: immobilization, rest, time and the treatment plan provided by my medical team. My experience cannot establish that CBD accelerated bone healing, reduced inflammation inside the fracture or caused the changes visible in these photographs.

What I can document is the timing and my experience. I noticed a striking improvement shortly after adding these products to my routine, and that improvement continued day after day.

Four and a Half Weeks After the Fall

At four and a half weeks, I am not pretending that my foot is completely healed. A better-looking foot is not the same thing as a healed fracture, and only my medical provider and follow-up imaging can evaluate what is happening inside the bone.

In fact, my 4.5 week X-Ray follow-up showed zero improvement in the bones repairing, no hard callous formation and the gap in the break almost looked worse). Which the doctor informed me was normal with such a break as it takes up to 12 weeks to heal. 

But my daily life looks dramatically different from those first photographs.

I am carefully hobbling/scooting around again, although I still have a heavy limp. I am doing more for myself. The foot looks far closer to normal from the outside, and the swelling, bruising and discomfort I experienced have improved far more quickly than I expected at the beginning. You can even see my ankle peep back through the swelling.

I have been able to resume some driving. That is not a milestone anyone with a right-foot injury should copy without clearance from their healthcare provider. In fact, my doctor wants me to remain still 24/7, but life cannot stop when there is so much to be done. 

The most surprising part is how quickly my mindset changed. Two weeks earlier, I was measuring progress by tiny reductions in swelling. Now, I am catching myself trying to move at my old pace and having to remember that the bone is still healing, even when I feel substantially better.

The Products That Stood Out Most...

If I had to identify the standout in my routine, it would be the Gold Buckle® CBD Muscle & Joint Rub.

It was simple to incorporate, I could apply it exactly where I wanted the cooling-and-warming sensation, and it gave me the most immediate feeling of localized comfort. Using it in the morning and evening also created a small moment to check the foot, observe the changes and slow down instead of pushing myself too far.

The gummies played different roles. The Gold Buckle® CBD Gummies became part of my daytime wellness routine, while the CBD+CBN Sleep Gummies supported my nighttime wind-down when the boot made getting comfortable unusually difficult.

My Honest Takeaway

With such a bad injury, I began this experience slightly skeptical. When I noticed the first rapid change, I thought it might be too good to be true. I still cannot separate the effects of time, rest, immobilization, medical care and the Lost Range products—and I do not want to pretend that one person’s experience can answer a scientific question.

What I can say is that these products became a meaningful part of my comfort and self-care during an unexpectedly difficult month. I could see the changes in my photographs. I could feel the difference in my day-to-day experience. I slept more comfortably, felt better able to manage my days and regained pieces of my normal routine sooner than I expected.

My follow-up X-rays in the weeks to come will tell me more about the fracture itself. Until then, I am grateful for the progress I can see and feel—and grateful to be getting back on my feet, even if one of them is still moving with a very noticeable limp.

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A Note About This Story

This article describes one person’s experience, Joanna Moroz Domino of Chicago, Illinois, and is not medical advice or evidence that CBD heals fractures, accelerates bone healing, treats inflammation or replaces medical care. Recovery timelines vary according to the type and location of a fracture and individual health factors. Follow your healthcare provider’s instructions for immobilization, weight-bearing, medication, driving and return to activity.

Sources

1. Fifth Metatarsal Fracture — StatPearls, National Library of Medicine
2. What You Need to Know About Products Containing Cannabis or CBD — U.S. Food and Drug Administration