Is Your Toe Sprained or Broken?

If you’ve hurt your toe, your main concern may be getting relief from the pain and discomfort, but at Goldsmith Podiatry, we know that it’s important to get an accurate diagnosis of your injury in order to determine the best course of treatment. Toe sprains and breaks can be difficult for a patient to differentiate the difference. That’s partly because they have several symptoms in common in addition to pain, including:

• Swelling

• Bruising

• Difficulty bending the toe

• Tenderness

• Throbbing

How Did the Injury Occur?

That’s one of the questions our podiatrists, Dr. Howard Goldsmith and Dr. Rosanna Troia will want to know. If a heavy object fell on your toes, a break is more likely because a sprain involves injury to the ligaments surrounding the joint. Many injuries, however, such as a fall, severely stubbing your toe or getting your toe caught on something while you are walking or running could result in either or both a sprain and a fracture. Turf toe, a sprain of the first joint in the big toe is a specific type of sprain that happens when the toe bends too far upwards. It got its name because it is a common sports injury among athletes who play on artificial turf. In most cases, in addition to physically examining your toe, the foot doctor will order a digital x-ray (which can be done right in our Upper West Side office) to confirm or rule out a fracture.

Treatment Options

Sprains are classified as mild, moderate or severe. Fractures can be completely through the bone or more of a crack, which is called a stress fracture. The podiatrist will determine a treatment plan dependent on the severity of the injury. In almost all cases, it will include rest, icing the affected toe or toes, compression and elevation. Sometimes a walking boot or crutches may be prescribed to keep weight off the injured toe to allow it to fully heal.

If you suspect you have a sprained or broken toe, contact our Manhattan office without delay by calling: (212) 877-1002.