Did you hear THAT? A story of boat races and broken toes.

I don’t know about you, but I find those boat races on Lake Marble Falls to be quite loud.

I was visiting a friend's house out in the county about 5 miles from Burnet, which is about 9 to 10 miles away from the lake,  and we heard the high-pitched whining of the race boats from there. 

 I couldn’t believe it!

Anyway, I noticed my friend was limping.

He showed me his very bruised and swollen little toe that he had struck on a piece of furniture earlier that day.  

He thought he heard it make a “POP” when he hit it. 

"Was it broken?"

I told him that even after 40 years as a foot and ankle specialist, I am unable to tell whether or not a toe is broken without an x-ray.

Sometimes, the toe will be extremely swollen and bruised and the x-ray will come out negative for fracture.

Other times, the toe may look absolutely perfect.  No swelling and no bruising BUT the x-ray shows that the toe is BROKEN  in two or three places.

We performed first aid. 

I showed him how to splint the toes properly and how to wear a very stiff shoe to allow for healing.

More importantly,  I recommended that he come into the office for an x-ray as soon as possible.

As it turned out, his toe started feeling better and my friend decided not to come in for an x-ray because the toe felt fine.    So fine that he did not see the need to wrap or otherwise protect it. 

Ironically, just a week or so later, he bumped that same toe again and it almost dropped him to the ground with pain. 

Wow!    Bad Luck.    It seems like things like this just attract trouble. 

The point of the story is:  

 It is very important to check and see via an x-ray to find out if your bone is broken.

Why?

Because it takes at least 8 to 10 weeks of splinting and appropriate shoes and perhaps a cast or a walking boot for bones to heal properly.

If you don’t know if that bone is healed or not, you can easily re-break the toe which starts the healing process all over again and may even result in a malaligned toe that may require surgery.

Moral of the story… If you injure your foot or ankle, go see your podiatrist and get an x-ray and avoid months of unnecessary pain and disability.

You’ll be glad you did!

Regards,

Dr. Frank Henry

Your friendly local foot and ankle specialist.

Talk to you soon.  

P.S.  I’m glad you read to the end.   As my special gift to you, I am making this offer for you and the next 7 people who call.     I will provide x-rays at no charge to you.   Just mention “Boat Races”  when you call (naturally,  some limitations apply)     

P.S.S..   You don’t have to have an injury to take me up on this gift.    You can use it for any foot and ankle problem that you may be having!

For more information about the diagnosis and treatment of toe and foot fractures “click below”  https://www.healthywalking.com/blog/toe-and-metatarsal-fractures-broken-toes