Stubbed Or Broken?

Nobody wants to waste a trip to the doctor to have him tell you that it’s just a bruised or stubbed toe. That said, you’ll want to swing in if your toe is broken, since it could heal incorrectly if left untreated. So how can we tell which injury you suffered?

Before we delve into the answer, it’s important to understand why stubbing your toe hurts so bad. The biggest reason why stubbing your toe is so painful is because your toe is loaded with densely packed nerve endings. Additionally, each of your toes consists of several small bones,which can break or become disjointed if jammed.

There’s no perfect system for identifying if you have a broken toe or a stubbed toe, but the easiest way is to look for symptoms/the absence of symptoms of a broken toe. For example, symptoms of a broken toe include:

• Hearing a “pop” at the moment of impact.

• Pain at the moment of injury and hours or possibly days later.

• Crooked or bent appearance.

• Bruising and swelling of the toe.

• Discoloration of the nail.

Another piece of advice that we’ve heard is that “if you can walk on it, your toe isn’t broken.” Those are not wise words to follow. Our bodies subconsciously do things to protect ourselves from pain, including sending out natural nerve blocks and altering our gait. The reason walking on your broken toe may be tolerable is because you aren’t putting normal pressure on the toe, or because your body is numbing the pain. Checking for the above symptoms is a much better way to determine if your toe is broken. If you want to give it a few days to see how your symptoms are, treat the injury with rest, ice, compression and elevation.

Of course, the easiest way to determine if you have a broken toe is to swing into a foot specialist’s office. He or she will be able to take a look at your toe and order an X-ray if necessary.

The post Stubbed Toes vs. Broken Toes appeared first on Lance Silverman, MD - Orthopedic Foot & Ankle Surgeon.