Broken bones in my foot?
 

So, I'm not quite sure where to pose this question . . . .but Health and Fitness seems most likely . . . .

I'm a clutz. A self described, certified clutz. I was perched on my kitchen bar the other day, and decided to jump off . . . . no huge leap, but I somehow managed to wrench my toes, and fall down flat on my ass. I was certain that I was ok (alcohol had a little bit of a sway on that thought process), but I woke up the next morning and couldn't walk.

It's now day 5, and 3 of my toes are pretty well black, and the top middle of my foot is still swollen. I can put some weight on it, but not alot, and I can't flex my toes very far. My question is, did I break something? And if I did, is there anything a doctor could do for me if I went to see one?

Any help would be much appreciated :)

Bruising that bad should be seen by a doctor, and the swelling should also be examined. There are more things than bones to worry about in your foot--ligaments and tendons besides. If you can't put weight on it, after day 5, it's likely that something happened that is more than a sprain.

And yes, there is something a doctor could do for you: prevent lasting nerve damage, prevent lasting damage to your ligaments and tendons, and if something is broken, prevent it from setting wrong. And pain pills. Which are always good.

What's keeping you from going to the Dr.? Man, I'd be right there. You'll never know until you go but when it's too late, it just too late. So don't wait. And I'll stop writing poetry.

:) I'm afraid I'm at the too late part, though . . . . and I've had some ba-ad experiences with my insurance lately (3 tries on a PCP, and they still can't find one that still alive, or practicing)

Owl, I never even thought about the whole tendon/nerve thing . . .is this something that warrants an ER visit?

You probably don't need to bother the ER at this point, seeing as you've put it off this long...go to urgent care. If there is no urgent care, go to the ER. Either way, you really should see a medical practitioner as soon as possible.

hammered toes is not going to get you any ass, that's for sure.

I'm sorry, but huh?

yeah get to the doctor for something like that. color change and swelling on anything on your body is a bad thing. if you broke a toe and the bone is out of place it could be doing some bad stuff in there and if it starts to heal while being out of place it might need to be rebroke and reset to heal right. but hey that sounds like good fun anyway right? might be as simple as toes being dislocated and they can be popped back into place if you dont wait too long. or might just be a horribly bad set of bruses. but if you cant walk go to the doctor. or wait till it gets alot worse then cut off your leg at the knee and get one of those cool wooden peg legs and wear a eye patch and walk around going ARRR alot.

That sounds like my broken foot from last year. Thing is I felt/heard the crunch and crack through my body. I can't tell you if I heard it audibly but I did hear it internally and I KNEW I'd broken something.

I'd suspect tearing of ligaments and or cartilage. If it's cartilage that can sometimes be repaired or restructured. As for a broken bone - it depends on where it is. Mine was in my heel and apparently that's the hardest place to heal. In fact I still have a silver dollar sized chip in my heel. I'm walking at least. They put my foot in a brace for a month. It depends on the dr's office but our local medical clinic usually keeps a few spots open for 'day of' calls. You just have to be first one to call in the morning. A visit there is usually cheaper than urgent care/ER. At least that way if insurance is an issue it won't cost you as much.

Good luck - makes me hurt thinking about it.

If your toes are black, you'd best be seeing a doc and getting an X-ray, or at least it looked at.

That or worse case, it is broken and it'll heal wrong and you'll never walk right again, plus will have a grotesque foot. :)

thubpt, you have classic signs of broken toes. If you don't get them worked on, pronto!, you're going to have all kinds of trouble later in life with your feet - or even, not so later in life. They'll heal wrong and there can be scar tissue and misallignment of the muscles and chronic pain.

Bones set about 10 days to 2 weeks after they break. Get them looked at NOW.

thank you, everyone! it's been 11 days . . . .the bruising has pretty much gone away . . . my neighbor, it turns out is a nurse at the ER, she looked at my foot, and pretty much surmised that i did indeed break a toe, and gave me some tape to stablize it. I can walk ok at this point, still have a hard time after swimming laps, though. . . .

I have learned an important lesson from this ordeal, though: No more sitting on the bar for me :)

Dude, you still really need to go to a doctor. Did your neighbor take x-rays? You probably are hoping to be able to walk on this foot for a few more years. Is your neighbor going to be there five years from now when you discover that the toe has set wrong? The lesson you need to learn here is seek professional help when you need it. Don't just ask people on a Board or talk to a neighbor.

Oh my gosh!! I just did almost the same thing on Tuesday! Except for the being totally sober, trying to walk with my whole lower leg asleep, and not falling completely on my ass thing. Two of my toes and the side of my foot folded completely underneath and my whole weight fell on them. I fractured the bone just before my pinkie toe on the outside (5th metatarsal?). They couldn't cast it because of the location, but I'm on crutches and possibly a walking boot soon. It's a pretty shade of purple and green now. Definitely got it x-rayed, though. They said if I keep walking on mine, it'll take up to a month or more to heal.

Best part of my story, though my kindred klutzy spirit? I survived a four day snowboarding trip. And broke my foot in the bathroom the night after I got home. :lol: :lol: :lol: