So Tuesday (this is now Saturday), I tried to step over a baby gate (up to keep a dog out, not a baby in) and I forgot to say “go go gadget legs!”, and I didn’t make it. I fell. I felt (or heard, it’s a bit foggy now) a horrible crunch from the top of my foot. It didn’t swell or bruise at all, but it hurt really super duper crazy bad, so I went to the ER, where an xray showed no breakage. They said sprain, gave me an Ace wrap, a cute-ass shoe, and some crutches, and packed me off to home. They didn’t really tell me how long until it should feel better or what to do if it doesn’t start to feel better.
I called my doctor the next day and told her cunt-face of a medical assistant that even though they said nothing was broken, I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something bad wrong with it. It just hurts too much. (I guess I shouldn’t have turned down the narcotics they offered, but I hate those things.) After running her big fat mouth at me and attempting to give me medical advice, which is not her job, I asked that witch to just give my message to the doctor so I can see what SHE says. I never got a call back.
So now, lo these many days later, it still hurts like a mofo. I admit I haven’t been able to put my foot up much and live like a princess this week, but you know, I have things to do. I have kept it wrapped and shoed but I have not used the crutches because, you know, those things suck.
If this kind of pain (again, no swelling) continues past the 1 week mark, what to do? Do you know?
Foot breaks can be hard to spot at first…and if you heard a crunch…
Give it a few and then get another X-Ray. Broken feet can be a big deal, because all the tarsals can start moving about.
That’s what I thought- will do. You’d think it would be a little bit better by now, even with the way I’ve been using it. Thanks for validating me.
It is getting more common to use a high resolution ultrasound to diagnose fractures especially in feet and ankles; these can often see breaks that x-rays cannot. My wife fractured two bones in her ankle and the good doctors at Kaiser x-ray’d her not once, not twice, but 3 times and were never able to see the breaks. Luckily, she was doing business consulting for a leading local physiatrist that has pioneered some methods of diagnosing bone/tendon/ligament damage using high resolution ultrasounds and he was able to tell them exactly where to look. The found the fractures on the 4th x-ray. It has been almost 2 years now, and she is still not quite at 100%.
All that said, it is my understanding that they can’t do very much about fractures in this region unless things start moving around and then it is surgery and pins. You may want to let it heal a couple of weeks in that shoe they gave you and then get a referral for a physical therapist.
I vote that you see a podiatrist. They know more what to look for.
Also, you could have some soft tissue damage. That likely won’t show up on an x-ray, unless
it is causing something else to be out of position.
I feel your pain, though. (pun intended) I remember a thread about the worst pain people experienced, and a whole bunch of us posted that it was breaking a toe. Mine was a year ago, and it still bothers me occasionally.
ETA: I disagree with waiting to see how it heals before getting a follow-up. There are cases where early intervention matters…resetting a bone to be in the right position, for instance. That can be much worse if you wait.