I broke my big toe when I dropped a stock pot on it. I didn't discover that the toe was broken until I decided that the pain was too great to continue walking - about 2 weeks after the accident. I did see an orthopedist who informed me that the toe was broken and that there was noting that could be done except wait for it to heal. I could use a toe spacer to ease the pain, though.

Not medical advice, just my experience. I fainted from a sitting position after a flu shot. Just fell forward with my weight on the right side of my right foot. It was bruised and tender but I walked (limped) on it for 10 days. It wasn't getting any better. Went to the doc, who sent me for exrays. Turns out I had broken the 2nd and 3rd metatarsal bones. They are tiny bones which are not difficult to break. I would suggest seeking medical attention.

Yep, could be broken, get an xray. In October, I fell and broke my foot, proximal 2nd metatrsal head. Still going to physical therapy. I am going back to get another Xray Tuesday because the PT thinks the 4th toe was originally also broken and is now definitely broken(I had another fall, skating - oops)

I've broken a toe before and yes, all they could do was tape it. BUT, you could have done more than broken the toe. I would definitely go and have it checked. Ouch! Hope it's better soon!

Yep - and it's very painful. I'm still recovering from the one i broke last month. It's the only bone I've ever broken. I stubbed my toe on the corner of a metal box that had fallen over in the garage. It was partially blocked by the car and I didn't notice it.

The diagnosis - I broke the toe next to my little toe (the ring toe?) and I have avulsion fractures of the two ligaments behind the toe. The toes were bruised, the broken toe was twice the normal size and my entire foot was swollen. The only shoes I could wear were my LL Bean suede bedroom slippers. Sleeping was tough and I had to wear socks to make sure that I didn't accidentally get my toe caught in the sheets. It's still very painful to the touch and I can't move the toe.

I hope you feel better soon.

I'll be back in a bit but I just had to share this first. After getting up earlier to go to the kitchen, i had to step over the dog. The knee on same side of bad foot wouldn't bend and it hurt like heck. There's a bruise under the knee cap. NO clue how to treat that.

This is what I wanted to share. Looks like 12 y.o. DGD is a chip off the old grandma block. Not funny but downright hilarious. DS contacted me a little while ago to say DGD was in the back yard playing soccer and twisted an ankle and is now under ice. He showed her my toe and is quite "concerned." She and I talked and we are demanding to share a sick room at DS's house, along with a little bell of our own so we can make someone bring us pizza, french fries, pop, and all the candy they can find whenever we want. No takers.

Here's more proof DGD has my genes, except I'm not quite as smart and talented as she is. DGD is the only blood female I've ever had, so she is the light of my life.

A few years ago after school she was in her mom's empty classroom while her mom was next door in a meeting. She decided it was a great place to practice her gymnastics. Thankfully we have a small urgent care across the street.

Love her boots with the little gold hearts on them! Hope she's on the mend quickly. And same to you as well.

Poor you! That looks so painful. And now your knee. Probably not much to be done except what you’re doing. And poor DGD. Owie.

I have stubbed my toe so many times. I literally see stars. Heres the last one. My pinky toe, next to my ring toe ( love that).

I've broken both my pinky toes (separately, not together) but years ago. Then at least, they don't really do anything for them other than ice and elevate if there is swelling.

The 'big' toe is more important for balance and they might treat that differently. With that much pain, I might want an xray. So many little bones in ones foot, you don't really know what you may have done - I'd hate to see you delay treatment if any is needed.

Oakley, it sounds like a trip to an ortho may be in order to get both the knee and the foot checked. If you hit your knee going down, it might be just a bruise, but it could also be a tear of something that requires treatment or at least some guidance on how to not make it worse while it heals. I've had a foot injury that looked a lot worse without any fractures (the worst pain ever -- even over childbirth), but I've also broken a toe that didn't look any worse than that. Maybe they can only tape it, but I'd err on the side of getting it checked -- and taped, over ignoring something that might get worse and require surgery or cause you pain anytime you walk for the rest of your life. Just worth it to me.

Heavy bruising can also be be problematic because of blood clots.

The toe I broke during soccer was broken in two places, could be why the pain was so bad. All the doctor did was tape the toe to the other one.

Nothing's throbbing now but the big toe still aches.

The stubbing toe horror stories reminds me when I hit the same toe above on the corner of a river rock flowerbed. No breakage but it hurt for a long time, the pain is gone but now it's the one with the fungus. Hmmm.

Tereza, I remember that trip and was so impressed that you even did it out of safety. But you did!

Question. Should I rest the knee/toe as often as I can, or should I get up and walk for awhile to keep them bending?

If there's no change on Monday, I'll go to the doctor. I need to see the doc anyway because I have a tiny callus on top of my thumb next to the nail. It only hurts if I accidentally hit it against something which is constantly. Boy does it hurt. I soak it a couple of times a day in warm water and use an antibiotic cream. It takes a lot of time taking care of myself. :)

I have never broken anything (knock on wood) but my left foot was crushed when I was 13yo. J was spending the night and after we went out to eat with my parents, her dad was at the lake (in front of our house) getting his boat. This was a stupid idea, since the lake was really just a large pond and not large enough for a ski boat. Anyway, other neighborhood kids were there so we went. His boat trailer, with the boat, was hooked to the back of his jeep. Kids all piled on, and J and I ended up standing on the flat back bumper/ledge.. He started backing up, and I told the boy on my other side they were standing on my foot, who replied he wasn't standing on my foot. He backed up more, and I screamed. The trailer had jackknifed over my 2-3 smaller toes. J's dad got the trailer unhitched as quickly as he could, then took us to my house. He did not even try to help me walk to our backdoor, and I couldn't put much weight on it due to the pain.

This was the weekend, and doctor's office was closed. Had this happened to one of our children, I would have taken to the ER. Nope. I couldn't let the bedsheets touch it and tried to sleep with a backrest pillow that had arms acting as a tent. Went to the doctor on Monday for an xray. No breaks, and got crutches, which I was on for over a week.

On my last visit to DD2's house, I was holding the dog's collar while she let someone in the front door. The dog lunged forward, pulling me down to my knees. At least there was a rug. I ended up with a large bruise underneath my left knee.

To answer your question, I would go to the doctor. Meanwhile, ice 20 minutes on/20 minutes off as often as you can, Tylenol and no more tripping!

ETA: Forgot to mention that I was wearing shoes at the time. The heel of my penny loafer was cut off. The Dr said if I had not been wearing shoes, it would have been really bad.

I have a pinky toe that looks like dedtired’s photo except on my left foot. I caught it on a chair in the middle of the night 6 weeks ago and it is still swollen and somewhat red. If i could do without shoes, it might not be so red.

When it first happened the top and bottom of my foot and the middle toe were also black and blue. This was 2 weeks before our grandson’s wedding. I managed to wear dressy sandals to both the rehearsal dinner and wedding but took sneakers to change to at the wedding.

I might go to a doctor with a great toe. It is much more important to gait and balance, and then there is the effect it can have on your knee. Your DGD is adorable.

It sure looks broken to me. (Not like I'm an actual doctor, nor can anyone really tell anything by a photo on the internet, but hey, not being qualified to render an opinion rarely stops me....)

Add in the knee issues and I think it's worth a trip for xrays. I get it - I avoid going to a doctor for myself unless there's an actual chance i could be DYING....but I often encourage people to be much smarter than me.

Your grand daughter is beyond adorable!

This is me:

Yes, I broke a pinky toe in college and it was really painful. I recall having very similar bruising underneath. I was camping with friends in Moab and we went into the river to cool off. I was wearing Tevas so I had sturdy soles but my toes were exposed. One of the boys with us somehow managed to kick my foot and snapped my pinky toe sideways. I calmly sat down in the river, looked at my toe, and set it myself. The worst was trying to drive my manual 1984 Toyota 4Runner (carbuerated 4 cylinder - not much power) home and constantly having to clutch with the foot with the broken toe. My foot quickly became too swollen to fit into my hiking boots. I did go to the doctor when I got home. They gave me a special shoe with a very solid bottom, but that was it. I recall being pretty miserable that whole summer. And to be honest, the toe still bothers me when hiking at times.

I have broken both pinky toes numerous times, mostly from being stepped on by horses. Both are incredibly misshapen at this point, with weird bends that make them project out from the foot and have caused them to be trip hazards as they catch on furniture and

doorways, resulting in new breaks..… the reason I rarely if ever go barefoot.

Ally, I just now got online and your meme was the first thing I saw. It was a loud LOL moment. In fact, I'm wearing a teeshirt that Says, "Sorry I'm late, I saw a dog." Aint that the truth!

Outside, I remember that! You'll appreciate what I read this morning when I looked up broken second toe. It pulled up one of those case studies using medical terminology I do not understand, but the patient was a 63 year old woman who woke up during the night and hit her toe on the nightstand. I started thinking of us all here with the same type of story.

I'm heavily leaning towards going to the ER tomorrow because my doctor is off today. Our rural hospital, one story, is next door to the doctor's office, and his office would send me next door for an x-ray anyway.

During the night when I got up I was a little scared because my knee was giving me pain and it was stiff. Getting up this morning it felt great. No pain sitting still. I'm not really worried about it but if I do get an x-ray the knee will be delt with.

New bruising on the top of the 2nd toe. It looks like I drew a thin blue line around the first joint. Plus there's light brusing and a noticeable swelling right under both the 2nd and 3rd toe, and I think it's also broken. It's not hurting enough to take Tylenol.

When I touched the red spot a bit ago the stinging began and it hurts. No pain, just stinging. Blood vessal?

I'd try to keep it elevated as much as possible, since it's literally your lowest extremity and standing or walking puts a lot of pressure on it, along with swelling.

It certainly looks painful. You tripped and fell and in the process turned your ankle. Assuming you had shoes on, I can't think of how the bones in your toe could break. Maybe the force of the fall caused you to stove them into the ground when you fell. I would assume the worst and get to a doctor and have x-rays taken. Good news - left foot. At least you will still be able to drive.

My rule of thumb (involving fingers, toes, foot) is that a lot of bruising is a good clue that there is a fracture.

Yeah, I'd go have it evaluated just in case the fracture is misaligned. But, you won't be surprised if they only tape it. I would think about using a fracture boot on that foot also, if you have or can borrow one to keep stress off of that big toe.

I have had both the 5th and 4th toes on the same foot broken. one right after the other (as soon as the 5th got better, the 4th was fractured). I did see a podiatrist, kept them taped, but having to work & walk on my feet for long hours, and walking off kilter on that foot because of the pain, led to a mighty persistent case of plantar fasciitis.

Go get it checked out. Better to be safe than sorry. Last summer I fell (dog story of course) and landed on my side. Arm and leg got a good road rash. Eight days later I went the ER because my elbow was still bothering me. They took x rays and diagnosed a broken elbow and gave me a sling and a follow up with an ortho guy. . I could have gotten a jump start on healing had I gone in sooner.

Learn from me and go.

Jojo, I just now read this. Is your elbow okay? In high school I was acting silly flinging my arms for some reason when my elbow hit the wooden stair post cap and it also was a direct hit to my funny bone nerve. It wouldn't stop being funny so I had to go to the ER and wear a sling for a week or so. This guy in class took his pencil and barely tapped my elbow and I had to leave the room so I could cry. lol

My update never appeared on the first page.

Oh Oakley I'm so sorry you're in terrible pain! I hope the pain subsides soon and the boot doesn't cause too much trouble. I'm glad you opted to seek medical help.

I'm glad you went to the Dr. Was he an ortho doc, if not, will one take a look at the xray too? I ask because when DS and another student got tangled up playing basketball in gym, Childern's ER said no break or fracture. But once the Ortho saw, we were called back for a cast due to a growth plate fracture.

Keep elevated. No harm in still icing for the pain. Ration the pain pills.

Ohhhh Oakley, that's awful! I hope you feel better soon.

last winter my husband stubbed his toe in such a horrendous, bloody way that we were worried he broke it. he was in a ton of pain and it bled like crazy. we were in a rental home in Mexico City, with tile floors and a sunken living room that had a bizarrely high step (that place had many code violations. I'm SO over airBNB).

this was on the first day. thankfully he was able to ice it, and could walk by the next morning. otherwise his trip would have been ruined -- this was not a "sitting around" kind of vacation. his nail eventually fell off and still looks gross.

I thought by your pictures that your foot looked more swollen that your toes and that you might have a fracture in the foot. When I broke a toe I had bruising, but it didn't go much below the toe. Are you saying you are not wearing the boot? Please follow your dr's orders. You won't pull muscles. My 85 year old MIL wore one last year for several weeks. She wore a flip flop on the other foot. Hopefully you are mostly staying off the foot. Hope the pain is better!

When I crashed my bike (not my fault!) and broke my foot, the first ER doc said not fractured - but after a week with continuing pain, I went to an ortho (took in the original xray) and ended up in a cast. He pointed out the fracture on the film, even I could see it!

Glad it wasn't a break-- but glad you went to the dr and have a boot/meds.

I have had a lot of broken bones-- to the point I was tested as a teen to make sure there were no bone density issues (there were none). I was just very active .. and unlucky. I walked on a broken foot for a week before we knew it was broken. It was tender but not terribly painful (that break happened while playing "kick the can" .. the kicker missed the can and kicked my foot lol).

I also had a funny bone injury-- this about 7 yr ago. Not even sure how I did it but I knocked my elbow on the corner of my desk. Long story short, within a few weeks, I'd lost 85% function in my hand (test results.. not my estimate) and it was declining quickly. I had surgery to move my entrapped ulnar nerve.

Knock on wood, I haven't broken a bone in 18 years!

Tina, I'm mostly bedridden and only walk to the bathroom or kitchen, so I'm not doing the boot. It's one of those huge boots that where it needs pumped and locked. Since the doctor visit I now have a serious latent injury in both quads and I think they are strained. I can barely put my pants on either sitting or standing witihout excruciating pain. I'm icing and resting.

And I want my mommy. :)

Funky! Ouch!!! That funny bone is definitely not funny.

Oh Oakley. I'm so sorry. It sounds awful. :(

Ouch, I hope you feel better soon Oakley. All of this sounds very painful.

Sorry, Oakley -- I didn't realize you were still in such great pain. I didn't mean to sound heartless.

I am sure you know this -- but if you are spending a lot of time in bed it's going to take a lot longer for the swelling/bruising the dissipate-- so make sure to elevate your foot above your heart. Again, I am sure you know this but sometimes when we are in pain we forget the basics (or I do!)

Aw, Oakley, I’m so sorry you are still in a lot of pain and have that pesky boot. You need to get a thing called a shoe elevator for your good foot. Most ortho doctors can get them and give you one. It stretches over the shoe of your good foot, usually a tennis shoe, running shoe, etc to even out your height and normalize your gait. My Pilates instructor broke her foot a year or so ago while running and wore one. They are sized to fit your shoe size.

Keep resting and do elevate your foot as much as possible. I do feel your pain.

Just saw this - so glad it wasn't broken bones, and sorry you're suffering so ☹️

Funky, I didn't take it that way at all. :( Doc says stay put for a few days, and I have tried to elevate the foot in bed but it's hard to do since I can only lay on my side. Now I have the quad problems & just finding a comfortable position for the thighs is a real chore.

Outside, I don't have a good foot anymore. lol The other leg has the thigh injury and I limp with pain when I use it. I think the boot was for broken bones only which is why it was given to me before the xrays and results came in.

Can someone tell me just how I can injure my quads and not know it until 3 days later, 4th day with pain so severe when I move my leg/knee in a certain way? I can't find a bruise, but it was warm to the touch this morning, and it's been iced twice.

Earlier, DS was supposed to call and tell me when he got to town after work because he was bringing me dinner. I was in the back of the house, dh outside, when the phone rang and it was DS telling me DGD was at the front door. I tried to fast limp/walk and that was a mistake, by the time I got there I was bent over holding my thigh. The pain was worth looking at her sweet face. :)

I'm trying to figure out what I did and why it showed up this late? Oh, my middle finger hurts too. Maybe I should elevate it also? :)

I feel his pain. Did you all at least get out and eat real Mexican food? :)

that first night, we went do dinner without him and I had to bring back food. poor guy. thankfully he was able to join us for outings by the next day.

fingers crossed that you heal quickly and I hope you feel better soon!

Be careful where you elevate that middle finger. LOL

Glad nothing was broken, but it still takes time to heal. I fell in January, got it checked the next day -- no fractures, but it still gets swollen if I'm on my feet a lot now 2 months later. It's across the top of my foot where I can still wear most shoes and it just looks a little puffy. Oh -- take in easy in the boot too. I wore one at first and liked that I could walk without a crutch and with less pain, but then I discovered that walking in it was making my bruising across the top of the foot because it pressed when I walked. Back of the back of the closet it went. Take it easy and heal up!

Seattle, we spent a week in Mexico City while looking forward to all the meals. The last night there we took a walk in downtown in an area we hadn't been before & there was a tiny hole in the wall restaurant with no front window, and there was a goat hanging over the smoking fire. We knew that was the place to eat. lol Best ever.

Lascatx, do you remember how your foot hit when you fell? Last night while washing all the little piggies in a foot bucket, which I highly recommend buying, I took a good look and I must have just creamed them & the top of the foot.

Not wearing the boot since I'm still off my feet for the most part. Why they put it on me in the first place and not making up for the height on the other leg is baffling. An accident waiting to happen.

I did have the embarrassing experience of elevating my middle finger to every car that I passed. The night before I was using a brand new mandoline and I kind of didn't wear the protective cover for my finger so it kind of got sliced off at the top. That's my way of calling myself an idiot. Had to go to the ER to get it fixed The doctor put a very high and thick gauze covering on it. The next day I had to drive into town to get the meds, & I had no choice but to hold it up or it would throb. Same when I walked into the pharmacy. :)

You can purchase a device that you attach to your shoe which will raise your good foot to the same height as the booted foot. My neighbor had one and said it really helped.

https://www.amazon.com/ProCare-Procare-ShoeLift-Small/dp/B07RV65CP6/ref=sr_1_6?hvadid=177788682930&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9003814&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=b&hvrand=11790136434024518498&hvtargid=kwd-194883019934&keywords=shoe+leveler+for+walking+boot&qid=1680119900&sr=8-6

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Apoloslite/page/3DCD55CE-F329-4016-966D-11965ACD3A43?ref_=ast_bln

LOL If it is covered in gauze, I think you get a pass. And probably some giggles too. But you won't be the victim of a road rage incident over it.

When I fell, I was stepping over something and I am guessing my back foot slipped because I remember the top of my front foot hitting the edge where I was trying to step and getting pushed down and back and there was no way I could stop it. I was happy to not break an arm trying to catch myself or hit my head going down. My toes, esp. the middle 3, looked like yours and the entire top of my foot and ankle were very swollen. Like a chubby club. I was icing top and bottom with a wrap around ice pack. Under a down throw. Brrrr As things calmed down, I felt several things shift in my foot and ankle, though none were major or painful -- something you could experience later.

When I did wear the boot, I found that I had one pair of old athletic shoes with the thickest soles that gave me the best balance. Maybe you can find an inexpensive pair of casual shoes or even house shoes with a bit of a platform. They seem to be fairly popular now. You can really mess up your leg, hips and back walking out of kilter too much.

I would suggest that even when you aren't on your feet, that you wear the boot for periods - it keeps the foot & ankle in good alignment, prevents shortening/tightening of the fascia and ligament tissues and so prevents later problems. Doesn't have to be continuous, just off and on. It doesn't have to be tight, either - it isn't always necessary to inflate the bladders or strap it tight to get the desired support. Hopefully it was properly sized for your foot.

Your quad pain combined with feeling heat there, does concern me, though - if it isn't easing up, I think a return visit is in order.

Lascatx, how long were your toes and foot swollen? I spend most of the day in bed and I think this morning I could tell the toes felt better. Until I did a load of laundry about an hour ago, had to water plants so I carried them one by one to the sink and back. Oh, and I cleaned the counter tops. DH does the dishwasher but he's allergic to cleaning by hand. :)

Now several of the toes are throbbing like crazy, so next time I have a lengthy chore to do, I'll put the boot on.

I bought an amazing pair of garden shoes a couple of years ago that I keep next to the bed and I wore those to the doctor's office and noticed they were nice and firm and have a thick rubber sole. Putting the boot on takes forever and I cannot bend much because of the hurt quad.

I just noticed Amazon sells this memory foam leg support and elevation pillow. That's what I need!

Rae, I don't think it's a ligament issue, which is a sprain which I've had before.

I don't think I told this funny story above, if so, please forgive me. Monday nights were mom's bowling nights and dad was in charge of me and I brother. One night we had a couple of friends over and were playing hide and seek in the basement where you can run to home base before you're caught. I ran in and slid on purpose like a baseball player and sprained the heck out of my ankle.

Dad took me to the ER, they said to start soaking the ankle. He brings me a large pot of water, and it was HOT water. LOL My ankle probably doubled in size.

Lower back now has a bit of pain, not the usual back pain I get. Sitting in a chair makes my toes hurt.

Oakley, we went to some really fancy restaurants in Mexico City. They were excellent, but honestly my favorite meal was tostadas at a mercado! (but that tracks, I favor casual over formal any day.)

Same here. Our biggest mistake was going to restaurants to eat instead of looking for the mom and pop places. Sometimes we have to drop our restaurant snobbery to really enjoy foods from other cultures.

oh, it was definitely the plan to look for casual places too! my friends want to try everything. they do a ton of research on the hottest restaurants, the best spots for street food, and anything in between. it can be fun (and a little scary).

Oakley, I meant the boot to prevent issues with fascia and ligament in the foot and ankle.

If the pain is spreading, really, you need to get it checked out.

Raee, the pain isn't spreading but my toes still hurt. still swollen & bruised but a bit better. I don't walk enough to wear the boot, but if I did have a break it would be on all the time.

Define swollen. LOL Swollen all the time? I can't say really -- but it decreased generally over several weeks. I'd say it was enough to limit my activity a good bit the first week or two and then to a lesser degree over the next 2-3 weeks. My foot can still get puffy if I'm on my feet a lot, but I don't have pain or bruising and haven't for a while now. Also, the worst of my bruising was over the arch of my foot and what went into my toes seemed to be coming off the main part of my foot while yours is centered in the toes. Unless you have the boot on or stabilize them some way, those toes move every time you walk. When I wore the boot, it pressed on my foot and made the bruising worse when I walked. SImilar, but different.