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The response to the question below was authored by Marc Mitnick DPM

Left foot pain persists for 10 months after impact injury

About 9 months ago, I was stepping over a baby gate, and slammed my left foot against the top of the gate/door frame. I initially assumed I broke my pinky toe and that no treatment was necessary. It swelled and bruised the entire toe and below the toe on top of my foot, and was excruciating to put any weight on. I iced it, elevated it, and wore flip flops for a while because I couldn't tolerate a shoe or sneaker. I then wore sneakers for a couple months. The foot pain persisted and got worse with exercise.

Now all this time later, It continues to be achey and will swell at the base of my toes when I get off my feet at night. The pain is in the area of my left foot beneath my 3rd-5th toes, and I also realized I can't bend the last three toes on that foot. I am also not able to lay my foot on that side because it's too uncomfortable.

I didn't seek medical treatment when it happened because I didn't want to run off to the Dr for a stupid broken toe. Following this incident, my son became ill and we were required to move out of state to seek his treatment, 500 miles from home. We have been living away from home for more than 6 months but hope to be home soon. I'm worried surgery may be in my future, and it won't be pretty :(

I'd appreciate your thoughts on this.

ANSWER
Hi,
I guess you now realize there is no such thing as a "stupid broken toe". Conditions like this, if left untreated can create chronic pain.
I am just guessing here since I cannot see you or an xray, but you may have done more than just "cracked" the bone; you may have actually displaced a frament of bone and of course if part of the bone is far enough away from the rest of the toe bone, it will not heal and will become a constant source of pain.
Toe fractures should be treated just like any other fracture, otherwise you run the risk of complications.
More than likely you will need to see a foot specialist, have an xray, let the doctor decide if surgery is indicated and what type. Sometimes if there is a piece of bone displaced from the rest of the larger bone, that piece is just removed. Other times the fractured bone will be re-attached to the bone.
In either case, you should be able to walk after surgery and assuming you are in good health, should heal uneventfully.

Marc Mitnick DPM
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ADDITIONAL REFERENCES

Mayo Clinic

Johns Hopkins Medicine

MedlinePlus

Arthritis Foundation

University of Rochester Medical Center

Harvard Health

Drugs.com

American Academy of Pediatrics

Penn State Medical Center

National Institutes of Health

Columbia University Department of Rehabilitation

ScienceDirect

Stanford Health Care

Illinois Bone and Joint Institute

Mount Sinai Hospital

Institute for Chronic Pain

University of Florida Health

American Family Physician

Cedars-Sinai

University of Maryland Medical Center

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San Diego, CA

Dr. Mitnick, Just want to say thank you so very much for your quick response and very informative reply! After reading what you had to say, I called the doctor's office and was able to get in and see him the same day as my injury. Toe was x-rayed and luckily, it is not broken or fractured. Very badly bruised and will probably lose the toe nail. And although my toe and toe nail are still very black and blue and very sore, they ARE both starting to feel a little better. So again, thank you! I am so very happy that I came across your website. The service you provide is outstanding and immeasurable!

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This is the best site for foot problem info.

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Left foot pain persists for 10 months after impact injury

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