How does one know if one has a broken bone in the foot?

Factual Questions
1

Right now I’m in extreme pain.

My left foot is the pain giver.
I had a lingering pain that is on the top side of my foot around the middle of the foot.
But the pain was only when i walked and bent my foot up or down.

But foolishly I decided to play soccer yesterday and now my foot is in extreme pain.
It hurt when playing.

Now the pain is there even if I just sit there… a throbbing pain all the time with episodes of sharp pains.
I can barely walk now and the throbbing pain is also like a burning sensation…

I will be going to a walkin clinic near my work at lunch time…
but anyone had this type of pain before?

…i think this post is more to take my mind off the pain… but any info is good.

2

Sounds like a pausible break to me.

Interesting that you ask, I just broke a bone in my foot a week and a half ago. Slipped of a rock and the small-toe side of my foot impacted another rock and broke my bone (my 5th metatarsal, a mid-shaft fracture).

After it happened, I still had to walk back to camp, about a quarter mile. The walk hurt like hell when I put any weight on my injured foot. It was fairly painful, a dull throb, and much pain if I put pressure on that foot.

The next day I went to get it X-rayed and sure enough it was broken. I was fairly confident it was broken because of the pain and the swelling. Usually swelling is a good indicator or a fractured bone. And most injuries don’t hurt quite as bad as a broken bone, from my experience.

Either way, just go see a doctor and find out. In the mean time, remember RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation). This will help with the swelling and pain.

3

Compression may or may not be a good idea, depending on the swelling. Common mistake, but RICE actually stands for Rest, Immobilization, Cold, and Elevation.

I second the recommendation to see a podiatrist for evaluation and treatment. From what you describe, you could have a break, but it could also be a sprain or even something non-traumatic like an inflamed bursa. Only an actual examination can tell.

4

One knows if they have their foot x-rayed and the x-ray viewed by a radiologist.

Seriously, go see your doc.

5

Ditto for “see you doc.” I walked around with a broken foot bone for three months (tough guy syndrome) waiting for it to heal by itself.

Not gunna happen.

6

i just came back from the walkin clinic… and they rejected me.
well the receptionist said that the doctor wasn’t accepting anymore patients for the day…
it’s 1pm here.

so i’ll have to wait until tomorrow to go to my family doctor.

i was thinking of ‘walking’ off the pain… but it’s not helping.

one thing though, my foot is swollen… or noticeably so.
it feels like it swollen because of the throbbing pain.
at times i can’t even lift my leg because the pressure from lifting my leg or foot, causes more pain.

i took some tylenol to hopefully ease some pain…

…so one more day of distracting myself…

7

A broken foot may not hurt. (Mine didn’t.) However, it will probably swell a bit and it probably won’t move like foot should. The best way of being certain is to have it x-rayed.

If it’s broken you’ll most likely have to wear a cast for a few weeks. And you may still limp a bit after they take the cast off. (I was in a cast for six weeks and limped for six years.)

8

It sounds like you should just take it as easy as possible until you can see a doctor. “Walking off” the pain right now doesn’t seem to be a good idea. (Where’s Quagdop when you need him?)

9

Well, then, RICE must have different definitions , as I was taught the definition I used.

10

It seems to me that resting your foot and immobilizing your foot are the same thing. I think whoever told you that’s what it stands for is a hackjob. I’m going with the first definition, as it makes sense. And when is compression bad? Please give me an example.

11

Apparantly.

Google returned 3750 pages for “Rest Immobilization Cold Elevation” but 21,300 for “Rest Ice Compression Elevation”. I was taught the latter.

For the OP: If you’re going to try to “walk it off”, try taping an aspirin to it, or rubbing some dirt on it. That helps.

12

Rest=sit your butt down. Immobilization=splinting. See the difference?

Compression can be contraindicated in presence of extreme swelling the initial stages of a traumatic injury.

That’s what I was taught as an EMT. That hackjob would be the Chief of Emergency Medicine, Cooley-Dickinson Hospital, Northampton, MA :wink:

13

You do not want to see a podiatrist if you think you broke your foot. You definitely want an orthopedic surgeon. Podiatrists will help you with your ingrown toenail, your bunions, and your corns, but can’t do a thing to help a broken foot.

(OK, I exaggerated somewhat, lest some mad podiatrist come along. But you really do need an orthopedic surgeon.)

Seriously, I broke two bones in my foot and walked around on them for several months before I finally went to the doctor. I could have saved myself all kinds of pain had I gone to the doctor right away.

14

That characterization, RayMan, is only accurate for primary-care podiatrists. There are surgical podiatrists that are specialists in surgical treatment of the foot bones. Just as there are generalist and specialist MD’s, there are generalist and specialist DPM’s. The DPM has more training and experience in the foot than the orthopedic surgeon.

Some podiatric surgeons are better at what they do than orthopedic surgeons, some are not as good, but you shouldn’t paint the profession with that broad a brush