# How Can I tell if my toe is broken? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 12, 2007, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-tell-if-my-toe-is-broken/399843 "2007-04-12T19:35:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![\_kat\_herbrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/e47774/32.png) [@\_kat\_herbrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_kat_herbrain)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-tell-if-my-toe-is-broken/399843/1 "2007-04-12T19:35:19Z")
A little while ago (maybe about two months) I was at my friend’s house and I hit my toe against the stairs. It hurt pretty bad for like 5 minutes, and then it was sore for a few days. Now, all of a sudden, it’s back with a vengeance. I can barely walk on it, and if I put too much weight on it, it hurts, throbbingly (is that a word? ), for about a full minute. I know it’s hard to tell from cyberspace, but out of speculation, does anyone _think_ I have a broken toe? PS- it’s my big toe. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-tell-if-my-toe-is-broken/399843/2 "2007-04-12T19:38:16Z")
Any chance it’s an ingrown nail? I’ve stubbed a toe broken the toenail and not noticed until I started getting the tell-tale pains of an ingrown nail. ---
**Author:** ![\_kat\_herbrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/e47774/32.png) [@\_kat\_herbrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_kat_herbrain)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-tell-if-my-toe-is-broken/399843/3 "2007-04-12T20:26:15Z")
[QUOTE=KneadToKnow] Any chance it’s an ingrown nail? I’ve stubbed a toe broken the toenail and not noticed until I started getting the tell-tale pains of an ingrown nail. [/QUOTE] No, my toenail is fine. I have had ingrown toenails before, being a dancer, and this isn’t it, ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-tell-if-my-toe-is-broken/399843/4 "2007-04-12T20:33:41Z")
[QUOTE=❤kat&&herbrain​❤] A little while ago (maybe about two months) I was at my friend’s house and I hit my toe against the stairs. It hurt pretty bad for like 5 minutes, and then it was sore for a few days. Now, all of a sudden, it’s back with a vengeance. I can barely walk on it, and if I put too much weight on it, it hurts, throbbingly (is that a word? ), for about a full minute. I know it’s hard to tell from cyberspace, but out of speculation, does anyone _think_ I have a broken toe? PS- it’s my big toe. [/QUOTE] Sounds like it’s a job for a DOCTOR! Even if the problem is not a broken toe, throbbing pain is worth investigating. (Too bad they don’t have those x-ray machines in shoestores any more. You could scan your foot & post it! Those silly folks, worried about a bit of radiation.) ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-tell-if-my-toe-is-broken/399843/5 "2007-04-12T20:59:37Z")
Go to the doctor, and they’ll x-ray it. If it’s a toe other than the big toe, they might not, though- whether it’s broken or not, they just tape it to the other toes for a few weeks. I think I broke my “ring toe” (the toe that corresponds to the ring finger). It still hurt the day after I did it, and it was starting to swell up and turn a rather alarming shade of purple. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-tell-if-my-toe-is-broken/399843/6 "2007-04-12T21:01:16Z")
[QUOTE=Anne Neville] Go to the doctor, and they’ll x-ray it. [/QUOTE] Yes. In fact, the OP is new here so probably doesn’t realize that asking for medical advice on this MB is against the rules-- even for something as innocuous as this. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-tell-if-my-toe-is-broken/399843/7 "2007-04-12T22:41:39Z")
[QUOTE=❤kat&&herbrain​❤] A little while ago (maybe about two months) I was at my friend’s house and I hit my toe against the stairs. It hurt pretty bad for like 5 minutes, and then it was sore for a few days. Now, all of a sudden, it’s back with a vengeance. I can barely walk on it, and if I put too much weight on it, it hurts, throbbingly (is that a word? ), for about a full minute. I know it’s hard to tell from cyberspace, but out of speculation, does anyone _think_ I have a broken toe? PS- it’s my big toe. [/QUOTE] For the most part it doesn’t matter if a toe is broken unless it’s really deformed. ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-tell-if-my-toe-is-broken/399843/8 "2007-04-12T23:37:39Z")
IANAD, but I’ve had nine broken toes. Yes, you’ve probably broken it. Obviously, see a doctor to confirm this, but unless you’ve done something really terrible to it (which sounds unlikely, given the circumstances) they will probably just tape it to the toe next to it, which will act as a splint, and tell you not to push it for the next month or so.