I broke my toe. Is there anything I can do?

As a skateboarder I have broken many toes and been to the doctor for a few. They can’t do a thing. I actually have a broken one right now.

Personally, I think hiking is stupid. It will hurt worse on Friday if it was just broken. You have to cancel the trip or you will do real damage. It needs to heal for a few weeks.

@johnpowell There is no way I can cancel the trip. I have a wife, two grown children and three grandkids that would disown me if I did. The best I can do is just stay in camp on certain days.

So, will the pain get worse as the week goes on? And, what more damage can I do?

Get a sedan chair, litter, or other way to keep your weight off of that foot. Not that toe, the foot.

If you decide you want a 40-mile hike anyways, don’t expect that toe to ever line up with it’s mates ever again. Think “club foot” and ask yourself if you want that.

From my experience the pain will get much worse. I’m a wimp so maybe you can handle it. And obviously it depends on the severity.

I don’t want to do this but I will post a picture of my feet. Toe broken over a month ago, doctor seen. I know I have ugly feet and need a pedicure.

Beware Eyes

They take forever to heal. Mine is still huge after a month of nursing it.

To clarify, it is not a 40 mile hike but a series of shorter hikes over the week period. They will be anywhere from four to twelve miles a day. -

If that makes any difference

It won’t matter if it’s all at one stretch or not.

Does it hurt to walk to the bathroom? Mine hurt bad enough I pissed in Snapple bottles to avoid leaving my desk/bed.

If you could avoid bending any of your toes, maybe wearing one of those boots with a rocker bottom that would help, but you’ll be off balance already, and going over rough terrain. That’s not a good scene, and you have a good chance of falling and hurting yourself further. Hang out in camp, and only “hike” on flat surfaces such as a board walk, or smooth cement. I suggest you brush up on camp cooking, and so on. Make great meals and memories for when everyone comes back to camp!

@johnpowell

No, not yet. It hurts like a bitch if I bend it but it is ok to walk on if it is in a boot.
I do hobble if barefoot.

Do you want to risk getting to the far end of your hike and needing someone to come up and carry you out? Rescue teams that used to save you at little or no cost now will charge up to $1000/hr if they have to carry you out.

Stay close to camp and baby your foot.

There’s a method to this madness. While you’re hiking your natural instincts for your feet will to sort of, “curl” or “scoop” when stepping on rough terrain for more traction. The way you’re going to have to counter this is you will have to tape all your toes with say, packaging tape and wear like 4 layers of socks so that your foot acts as one giant toe. This is the only method I know that will make your toes act as one and should take some tension. But since it’s the middle, any “curling” or “scooping” of the foot will be felt. I say tape the whole thing.

But as @johnpowell has mentioned you will be damaging the toe more by straining it some more.

Horse back riding should be a good fit for you. No wear and tear on that toe at all. Just be careful how you get on and off.

@_Whitetigress I guess I will be trying the taping method. I don’t really want to be a camp follower. Thanks.

Go to the doctor? I mean, seriously now.

Tape it up. That’s all the doctor would do.

When I broke my toe about a year ago, I was told not to tape it up, as often the toe will heal crookedly. Ice it frequently…and don’t go hiking.

Lots of conflicting advice on this thread. I broke a big toe once. I went to ER because I, for one, don’t believe a doctor is a waste of time and money when you’re in pain. He gave me a shot (in the toe!) to numb it, straightened it out and taped it to the toe next to it. From then on the pain was minimal and it healed without being crooked.

First of all, only a x-ray will confirm if your toe is broken. It could just be a very nasty sprain. If you insist on going on your hiking expedition, bring a crutch to help keep the weight off your foot and aid you with balance. Also, take an anti inflammatory to help with swelling and pain. Strap it up for extra support but also to keep it in place. Elevate your foot after your hike as you are going to experience a lot of pain and swelling.

@rojo That sucks! I’m so sorry!! What horrible, horrible timing.
Like the others said, the doctor can’t do anything for you that you can’t do yourself.
I would think seriously about skipping the hikes.
Just try to kick back at camp and relax. I’m sure everybody will understand.

Relevant? I think so!

@rojo The toe isn’t that big of a deal. Yes it’ll hurt a bit, but they’re not that big of a deal. The concern is if you broke something behind the toe in your foot. That can be pretty serious. That’s why they x-ray your foot. Been there, done that, but it was only the toe. Taped it to it’s neighbor for a bit and no big deal. And it was pretty painless.

Many Thanks to all for the advice and for the concern.

There isn’t a lot you can do for a broken toe except, as has been noted time and time above, give it rest and don’t work it.

This is the advice that I received from a professional nurse over 40 years ago when I broke a toe playing volleyball barefoot on an asphalt court. I don’t think the medical advice has changed much.

If you were in the middle of a long hike and had broken your toe, it would make sense to give it the best first aid that you could so that you could make it out the other end of the trail with the least amount of added pain and injury and get a ride home. If you’ve broken your toe before the hike and insist on starting it anyway, then it will speak volumes about your courage, and volumes louder about your sense.

@Katniss: Totally relevant.

If one of your children or grandkids had broken his toe and wanted to hike 12 miles (and then another 28) for fear of letting down the team, namely the family who love and cherish him/her, what would your fatherly or grandfatherly advice be?

“Great. Let’s get moving”? I think not.

@gailcalled More like, “why don’t you AND YOUR DAD stay here today and we’ll see how it goes tomorrow

I could say it wasn’t hurting right now but that would be akin to the Black Knight claiming it was merely a flesh wound.

^^^ That’s certainly a good reason to pack the car, do a lot of heavy lifting and continue with your plans.

(What’s one toe? Its loss or deformed healing shouldn’t seriously affect your ability to walk, run or balance, particularly as you age.)

My unequivocal advice is to do nothing that will compromise your future mobility. Being able to move about under your own power is one of the greatest blessings we have.

Giving up a week of planned activity to avoid an entire future of possible pain and lameness doesn’t seem like a very challenging choice to me.

I spent a year with my injured foot (different kind of injury) in a boot cast, followed by six weeks in a hard cast, and I still have a foot that will never entirely heal properly. But I can walk on it again for short distances without limping or hardware, and I feel gratitude for this privilege every single day. I would consider it profoundly foolish and short-sighted to sacrifice that ability for the sake of a pleasure hike.

Aw Mom!

Injuries can be inconvenient and prevent you from doing fun things. Take it from someone whose been in 3 car wrecks and bent their knee backwards on a construction site. That last one was almost 15 years ago and I still limp a little because of it despite not actually breaking any bones.