You can manage a fractured toe very safely yourself as long as it isn't your big toe, isn't crooked or out of line and there is no skin wound over or near the fracture. Broken toe treatment depends on which toe you have injured and how badly.
If your broken fractured toe is not displaced, it is not your big toe and the skin is not broken then you may be able to manage it at home yourself, as long as none of the conditions above apply. Rest, ice and elevation are recommended for initial management to help reduce bruising, swelling and pain, and therefore shorten recovery time. You can begin normal activity once the swelling has gone down and you're able to wear a protective shoe comfortably.
A broken fractured big toe may be put in a cast to support it, as it takes much more of your weight than the other toes and is also needed for balance. The big toe is more likely than the smaller toes to need surgery in order to heal properly and to be as strong as it was before you broke it. Even if surgery is not required, you may be given crutches so you can walk without putting weight on the toe. If there is a lot of blood under the nail this may put pressure on the nail and make it very painful.
Your accident and emergency department may make a small hole in the nail with a heated needle in order to allow the blood to escape, or they might remove the nail.
However, they will be cautious if there is a break fracture beneath the nail, as if the nail is intact it will protect the break underneath from infection. If the skin is broken then you may need antibiotic medication to prevent an infection in the fracture, which would interfere with healing and could spread further into the foot. If your toe is crooked, particularly if the fracture is through one of the toe joints, your toe may need to be put back into line and held with metal pins.
You will be given local anaesthetic injections to numb the area - normally one on each side of the toe at the base. Doctors may then be able to realign the toe without operating on it.
A plaster cast might then be put over the foot to keep everything firmly in place whilst it all heals. You might need crutches or a special boot. This depends on which toe you have injured and how badly. It will also depend on how old you are, as bones generally take longer to heal the older you are. Well-healed broken fractured toes usually cause no ongoing problems.
The possible complications, which are more likely to happen after severe breaks, include:. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. For most of us, thankfully, the pain subsides and things get back to normal fairly quickly. But if pain persists and you suspect a broken toe, resist the temptation to tape up your toe, take a bunch of pain relievers and ignore it.
King says. Your doctor will likely use an X-ray to determine if your toe is broken and what treatment is needed. If the break is a simple fracture, in which the parts of your bone are still lined up properly, your doctor will probably put you in a walking boot for about three weeks, Dr. The walking boot keeps your toes immobile so the bones can knit back together in alignment.
If your toe bone is at an incorrect angle, your doctor may numb the toe and then straighten it immediately. Afterward, you may be required to wear a walking boot. If you have significant displacement or your toe is dislocated, you might need surgery to realign the bone.
Taping a suspected broken toe can help alleviate pain if the break is simple and the bones are aligned. It will still swell, but will likely have less bruising. A sprained toe may be painful for several days, but should then begin to improve. One other key difference between a break and a sprain is the location of the pain.
Usually a break will hurt right where the bone has fractured. With a sprain, the pain may be felt in a more general area around the toe. The only way to tell for sure if the injury is a break or a sprain is to see your doctor.
They can examine your toe and determine the type of injury. The two most common causes of a broken toe are stubbing it into something hard or having something heavy land on it. A broken toe can usually be diagnosed with the use of an X-ray. Your doctor will examine your toe and ask for your medical history. Tell your doctor as many details as you can about the injury and your symptoms. Be sure to tell your doctor if you notice a loss of feeling or tingling in your toe.
This could be a sign of nerve damage. Getting images from different angles is important to understand the extent of the break. Even before you know whether your toe is broken, you should ice the injured toe and keep it elevated.
You may also take over-the-counter painkillers, such as acetaminophen Tylenol , ibuprofen Advil , Motrin , or naproxen Aleve. Usually, a gauze pad is placed between the toes to prevent skin irritation.
The non-broken toe is basically used as a splint to help keep the broken toe from moving too much. By taping the broken toe to its neighbor, you give the injured toe the support it needs to begin healing.
More serious breaks may require additional treatment. If you have bone fragments in the toe that need to heal, taping may not be enough. You may be advised to wear a walking cast. This helps keep the injured toe stable while also giving your foot enough support to reduce some of the pain you may have while walking.
In very serious cases, surgery may be necessary to reset the broken bone or bones.
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