A month or so ago, I was at my aunt’s lake house, slipped on a wet step, and folded my left toe under my foot. All my weight came down on it. It really, really sucked.
Today, I was playing disc golf, and slipped off the end of the tee pad, and, yep, all my weight came down on that toe, folding it under my foot.
This time was much, much worse. I heard crunching and grinding in there as I went down, and the pain was so severe that I literally couldn’t breathe for about 15 or 20 seconds. After that, the only thing I could do was wallow on the ground for the better part of a minute, grasping at the pine straw and trying to figure out what the hell just happened, and why it seemed like a I had a million red-hot needles in my left foot.
I decamped to the local ER (I drive a stick. Joyous clutch foot!)
Fortunately, nothing’s all brokedy, but I have a registered, NFL-sized case of turf toe. Holy shit, does this ever suck. My foot looks like it’s been beaten with a rubber mallet. I can’t even THINK about moving my toe without screaming pain.
Saturday evening at work (I work retail) I somehow got assiged to build a display for boxes of Corelleware. No big, until I dropped a shelf on my right big toe. It HURT.
I exerted every effort of will to believe it was nothing major, but I limped for the rest of the evening. Decided, reluctantly, that if it wasn’t better by Monday I would see a doctor.
Sunday found me still limping a little, although that improved when I figured out that walking duck-footed made me less likely to feel significant sudden pain. Though my toe was still not very happy to wear my closed-toe work shoes rather than a set of sandals.
It’s now Tuesday, my toe is still somewhat purple, and still hurts if the wrong part of it touches something too hard (or with too much of my weight above it).
But my general level of pain has declined to the point of managability, and without ever taking any ibuprofen–or other painkillers.
Never heard the term “Turf Toe” before, but I did this once stepping out of the shower. There was a slight fold in a towel on the floor (thanks big brother!) and it caught my second toe and folded it under me. I lost my balance and stepped on it hard.
Now for the kicker: I had a dance recital that night and no understudy. I had to dance en pointe on that toe 9 hours later! Idiot at insurance company wouldn’t even approve it for an x-ray. Toe still looks kinda funny - a little longer than it should be and bent to the left.
Not my favorite memory, I’m cringing now just thinking about it, and my toes have involuntarily curled up in fright!
I always say that a ballerina can out-tough a Marine any day of the week. Yeah, they get through basic training, at what, 18 years of age?!? We start at six or seven!
Anyhoo, I feel your pain. Try combining one tylenol and one naprosen. I always find that one of each hits the pain much better than two of either.
As Hal alluded, “turf toe” is a frequent injury among football players, especially receivers and running backs, since they have to make full speed cuts and changes of direction, and often, the big toe, which accepts about 60% of a person’s weight during any given walking stride (and probably much more during a sprint-and-cut) turns funny and gets twiiiiiiiiiisted out of shape during the change.
I’m not a football player (any more). I’m just a klutz.
It’s usually considered a minor-ish injury, but lord amighty, while I was flopping around in the leaves, mewling in mind-erasing pain, I gained a new appreciation for its severity.
The doc gave me a post-op boot, which is pure misery. The foot hurts much less with my regular sneaker on it. Better support.
He also recommended 4 ibuprofen and 2 tylenol, taken simultaneously.
