Unfortunately, diagnosing toe injuries at home can be awfully difficult. Sprains, fractures, and bruises all present with similar symptoms. Here’s a good rule of thumb to go by: if your pain improves significantly within a few minutes of stubbing, chances are that you’re in the clear.
If, however, the pain doesn’t start to fade fairly quickly, you could be dealing with a more serious injury. That’s when it’s time to call your Weil Foot & Ankle Podiatrist for an appointment and evaluation! We will determine which of the following your injury is and work with you to develop a treatment plan.
If your toe is broken, you will feel pain and some or all of the following symptoms:
- Swelling of the toe (and possibly some of your foot)
- A change in the color of your toe (usually black and/or blue)
- Your toe may change shape and alignment if you’ve broken or dislocated your bone
- The toe will be painful and difficult to move
- The toe will be painful to walk on
- You may lose feeling in your toe and/or foot
- Your bone may be visible poking out of your toe or even through the skin in the case of a severe fracture
- Your nail may be loose, may have blood under the nail, and may only be loosely attached to the nail bed
A fracture of any one of the 28 bones of the foot (or really any bone in the body) requires an x-ray. The only exception is a compound fracture, where the bone breaks the skin and is visible from the outside. Let’s get back to x-rays for a minute though. To diagnose a broken toe, we will take x-rays from a variety of angles. We have specialized x-ray “platforms” in every one of our clinics that are located on the floor so that we can easily get the angles we need. The x-ray arm pivots so that our patients don’t have to move very much in order to get just the right images. After taking the x-rays, our Medical Assistants will instantly process them so that your Podiatrist can evaluate the images, determine if a fracture is present or not and then map out the correct treatment plan. We are able to provide casts, bracing, and/or boots if indicated for the specific nature of your fracture.
But what if your bone isn’t broken? Could your injury be serious enough to require medical care? Yes, it sure could! It’s possible to sprain your toe (injure the ligaments that connect your toe bones) or strain it (damage the tendons or muscles in your toe.) Symptoms of a sprained or strained toe are actually quite similar to a broken bone and should always be examined by your podiatrist.
If your podiatrist determines that a sprain or strain has occurred, they will recommend a course of treatment right for your injury, your lifestyle, and the level of demand you typically put on your feet. This could include wrapping, bracing and/or a boot or other treatments as indicated.
ncG1vNJzZmiakaGur6%2FEoZyapKSde6S7zGipnqufqr%2BksdJoqqGnpaGxbrWMrJyeZZFisbCv06ipZp6fp3quxYysq66akpqxbsDOnmawnZmheqe7zq1kmqaUYq6vt8ueZKKmo6m2tcHTnmY%3D