I rode my bicycle to lunch yesterday. I don’t bother to change out of my gym shoes, which are canvas “converse” style shoes, with flat soles.
I went to really push it, and my foot slipped off the pedal and my toes hit the front tire.
It hurt, but not really all that much. I’ve stubbed my toe worse.
Well, this morning my big toe is swollen, and the area around it is pretty bruised. Still doesn’t hurt that much. I’m trying to avoid bending my toe.
I’m concerned about how this will affect my workouts - other than that, I sit on my bum all day.
You might consider calling your doctor. I once wore the wrong boots while riding, slipped in gravel and stepped on a rock while trying to hold my bike up. Like you, I ignored it.
It was just a bruise, right? I could walk if I was careful, certainly it would be just fine. It couldn’t be broken if I wasn’t writhing in pain. It would get better after a while if I just babied it.
Well, no. It did heal, but the bones healed badly and nerves got pinched and moved around.
Foot surgery by itself isn’t painful. You are totally out of it and do not feel a thing. The recovery process is HORRIBLE!!!
Big toes are important. Breaking one and letting it heal on its own could mess up your gait for the rest of your life. Jamming it like you did could have messed up some of those other tiny bones in your foot.
I’m not suggesting that you drop everything and go to the ER. I’m just suggesting that you call your doctor tomorrow. It could be nothing, which I hope is the best outcome. You could end up with one of those so fashionable boots to wear and then be just fine.
Don’t be an idiot like me, you really do not want to have foot surgery. Trust me one this.
I broke a toe once and saw the strangest Doctor. English was her second (or third) language. She pointed out that the location of the bruising told her what area of the bone was fractured. She then repeatedly manipulated my toe in different directions. “This no hurt, yes?” Then she said, “Ahh, but what about this?” and I nearly passed out.
She the repeatedly told me to go home and get a buddy. I thought she wanted me to stay off my foot and have a friend help me achieve this goal. I told her I had to go to work, and she again told me about my buddy. I was ready to give up, when she grabbed some tape and secured the fractured toe to the one next to it. “See? Buddy!”
Not necessarily - that bruising can travel a way under the skin, speaking from experience with sprained ankles where my whole foot turned purple at one time or another over the few days after the sprain; ditto with what may have been a broken little toe a few months back.
To the OP - OWEEEE. Yeah, it is probably a good idea to get it checked out. If it is a simple fracture they may not do much about it beyond having your buddy (or your toe’s buddy) help out - but if it’s something else, further treatment may be needed or at the least a stylish orthopedic shoe for a week or two.
I smashed my two smallest toes into a door jamb about 9 months ago. I wondered if I had broken one or both. I don’t recall much bruising (except for my pinky toenail) or swelling though, and they felt fine after about a week. But the toenail on my pinky toe is still partially black-and-blue after 9 months, which is a bit weird.
So, after two days, I’m pretty sure I didn’t break it, just bruised and contused it.
It’s still tender, but I can walk pretty normally. Foot is still petty colors, though.