My Big Toe

[may_be_ignorant]

I am not asking for medical advice. I know that if you break a toe, they usually just tape it to another one, but what do they do if you like… dislocated a toe? My big toe is in a pretty substantial amount of pain right now - I cant bend it or put weight on or around it. It may be dislocated - do doctors do anything for that?

[USCDiver]

Yes, if it is dislocated it would need to be ‘reduced’ or ‘relocated’. That generally involves pain medication and pulling the toe back into alignment.

USCDiver, MD

[casdave]

Yup, get it relocated asap.
Hopefully you will not have chipped any of the bone, or it will not quite go in right - you will need an xray.

The sooner you do this, the better, any delay means that the joint could be put out, and there is a chance that your toenail will start ingrowing - which is not nice, nor is the permanent treatment for it.

[may_be_ignorant]

@USCDiver

Yes, if it is dislocated it would need to be ‘reduced’ or ‘relocated’. That generally involves pain medication and pulling the toe back into alignment.

USCDiver, MD

oh great sounds wonderful

[Cat_Whisperer]

@casdave

Yup, get it relocated asap.
Hopefully you will not have chipped any of the bone, or it will not quite go in right - you will need an xray.

The sooner you do this, the better, any delay means that the joint could be put out, and there is a chance that your toenail will start ingrowing - which is not nice, nor is the permanent treatment for it.

I’m (kind of) glad to hear that - I banged up my big toe decades ago, and the toenail has been prone to ingrowing ever since. I didn’t realize this was a common thing.