@Bolletje, in 2018 I broke three metatarsals in my foot in a freak accident. I was supposed to be on crutches for eight weeks and then rehab. How was I gonna do that, on a farm when I needed my hands free? A Swedish acquaintance sent me information on this:
It's called an iWalk. I bought one and used it outdoors to walk like a pirate hands-free and was able to do most of my stuff, PLUS go for fitness walks! (Indoors I scooted around on my office chair, with one knee on the seat and the good leg pushing and steering.) That way I only had to rehabilitate below the knee later. I was actually back weight-bearing indoors at 5 weeks and cleared officially to weight-bear at 6 weeks. For two weeks after that I used crutches like ski-poles for Nordic-style walking, because I still needed to support my foot on the breakover point of the gait. After that it was back to my beloved trails and mountains.
Normal rehabilitation of metatarsal fractures takes 8-12 weeks; I did it double quick in 6-8 (despite being middle-aged) - combination of the right diet for bone healing (my standard good diet with lots of F&V, wholegrains, nuts, some fish, meat & dairy, but making sure I had complete protein every meal, extra antioxidants, supplementary Vitamin D) and the ability to continue to exercise as much as possible. The orthopaedics guy was over the moon and the physio saw me just once and said, "You don't need to come back, you're doing all the right things already, just have an information sheet with extra targeted exercises you can do!" and that was that.
Anyway, this contraption might help you or someone you know. I do know people use it for Achilles problems as well. I'd lend it to you but am in the other hemisphere! Not super expensive though.
Wishing you a good recovery. It does drive active people mad to be incapacitated even temporarily!
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