Comments on: How to Know if Your Toe Is Broken

on 5/2/2008 its nice to know, but i really want to know how it go are fix the problem.

on 10/27/2007 I had to move all of my stuff out of my apartment last month 9/05/07 in oneday. I got all my stuff on a trailer and headed to the storage were My new code didnt wor and it started raining on all my stuff so i kicked his trash can really hard It hurt so bad i was in disbelief. It has been two months and i have not went to the doctor or done any care or aid to it and now like before it wont bend. I can barely move it the middle wont bend even with me trying to bend it with my hands its like stuck together or jammed together. Its not broken apart. Its wierd am I doomed?

on 10/24/2007 I broke my right big toe and within hours it was very bruised and swollen. Most toe breaks do not heal in one week. It has been about 6 days and my swelling is now going down. Buddy tape, ice and rest is the best thing for it. Doc said should be good in about 4 weeks.Suggest a post ops shoe which will help keep the toe straight and not bend which is natural when you walk.

on 4/13/2007 Thanks for the help. I find that putting a buddy bandage around the broken toe and the one beside it to support it helpful.

on 1/14/2007 Thank you for these comments. Saved me some money from going to the DR. Off to buy some tape now to "buddy tape" up my little left toe.

Kicking free weights on the floor ...not recomended. :)

on 1/11/2007 I broke the two smallest toes on my left foot on 12/1/06. Although I'd never broken a bone before, I immediately knew something was wrong. The pain was terrible and I couldn't walk on it. I went straight to the ER that night and after an x-ray they confirmed that I broke two toes (I thought I'd only broken one)! They told me that there was little to be done but "buddy tape" the broken toes to the closest unaffected toe, and they gave me a stiff-soled, open-front, velcro-tab shoe. I wore the shoe 24 hours a day (even while sleeping) and was very cautious not to walk on it. Lots of TLC and rest when I wasn't working. After about 3½ weeks my foot felt a whole lot better. Now, 6 weeks later, the swelling and bruising is gone, the toes feel 100% better (they're well aligned and flex normally). So, to summarize, the best medicine for a broken smaller toe (or two) is buddy taping, a stiff-soled shoe, no flexing of the toes and plenty of rest when possible. Always have an x-ray to know how severe an injury you're dealing with, and treat your toes with respect. :)

on 1/11/2007 I broke the two smallest toes on my left foot on 12/1/06. Although I'd never broken a bone before, I immediately knew something was wrong. The pain was terrible and I couldn't walk on it. I went straight to the ER that night and they confirmed that I broke two toes (I thought I'd only broken one)! They told me that there was little to do but to "buddy tape" the broken toes to the closest unaffected toe, and they gave me a stiff-soled, open-front, velcro-tab shoe. I wore the shoe 24 hours a day (even while sleeping) and was very cautious not to walk on it. After about 3½ weeks my foot felt a whole lot better. Now, 6 weeks later, the toes feel 100% better, they're well aligned, and flex normally. So, to summarize, the best medicine for broken smaller toe is buddy taping, a stiff-soled shoe, no flexing of the toes and plenty of rest when possible. Always have an x-ray to know how severe an injury you're dealing with, and treat your toes with respect. :)

on 4/19/2008 Buddy taping the toe and a stiff soled shoe are all you can do for a broken little toe, found that out last week when I snapped mine. But they're important! Don't think that because it's "just a toe" it doesn't need TLC like any other broken bone.

My husband's former boss broke the fourth toe, she didn't wear a stiff soled shoe the first few days and the fracture grew another two inches. Now she has to wear sneakers at all times for two weeks straight except when she's bathing or sleeping. No exceptions.

So whoever said their doctor advised them to walk it off, I wouldn't trust his opinion anymore. My own doctor's office said to do the taping and stiff shoe.

on 8/24/2006 I broke my little toe after falling in the garden, the hospital taped it up. I wore flip-flops because it was too painful for any other footwear. What I have found now, after 3 weeks, my toe has gone AWOL. It faces the other way, not straight up, but to the right. Reading the tips, I noticed you shouldn't wear flip-flops. Maybe that's why this has happened to me.

on 8/13/2006 If your toe is broken it turns blue. I've broken a toe so many times it isn't funny, and it either turns really red, or blue from bruising. Contrary to popular belief, tripping over a cat and sliding down stairs on your butt and slamming your foot into the banister at the bottom can break a toe!

on 4/19/2008 I broke my toe, and went to the ER. I went to a good hospital, but depending on where you end up, make sure they take an X-ray image first before they touch anything! From the X-ray it was evident that I had a clean fracture (a total break) of my little toe bone. The nurse gave me a couple of pills as painkillers and swell reduction. Then she told me she had to straighten the bone (re-alignment). She did something and announced it was done, and then she taped it to the adjacent toe (the standard practice of what should be done to keep the bone in place), and gave me a special shoe to walk in with a hard base, and sent me on my way with crutches.

However, immediately the next day I went to see a podiatrist in town. She took a new X-ray and saw that the toe had not been aligned correctly! Rule #1: Always ask them to take an X-ray again after they do something to the toe to confirm what they did.

Then she injected some local anesthetic into the bone, and re-aligned my toe. She then confirmed before and after with a new X-ray. I could see the difference clearly!

Morale of the story: Do not be mislead by a diagnosis of a general doctor or ER person at the time, no matter how confident they may sound. It is better to let them patch it up, and then go straight to a specialist because the general practitioner will not be specialized in this field.

on 4/19/2008 I went to the emergency room at the hospital thinking my little toe was broken (since I could not even step on the foot with the injured toe). After waiting 6 hours to be seen by the physician, he confirmed it was broken without an X-ray. He gave me 2 pain killers and dismissed me form the hospital. 20 minutes after taking the pain killers, I started feeling dizzy. To make a long story short; I ended up vomiting for the next 7 hours. It is now a day later and I am walking fine. Moral of the story is the toe was not broken, it was a wrong diagnosis and the emergency room doctor just wanted to get me out of there as soon as possible.

on 8/8/2006 Rest your toe for about 3 weeks. Try to avoid sports for that time. And go and see your doctor as soon as you have done it. After seeing the doctor, I suggest you put the broken toe on a pillow and put some ice on it, too.

on 8/3/2006 I heard my big toe break when I kicked into a step instead of going up it. When I tried to walk, it popped, snapped, and hurt. I iced it immediately, but it still swelled and bruised. There was a lump where the bone was pressing against the skin. After an x-ray diagnosed what was almost a compound fracture, I received a post-op shoe. Keep it elevated and iced as much as possible the first few days. It took the swelling and bruising down fast. They still don't know if I need surgery, but I believe elevating it, icing it, and taking ibuprofen steadily the first 3 days will help keep me from having surgery.

on 4/19/2008 For my fracture, I used the buddy system with cotton wool between the toes and rested for a week. Even after 5 weeks the toe is still tender, but getting better every day, It still gets a bit sore when wearing shoes. For the first week the painkillers given to me at the hospital helped a lot.