I maybe broke a toe last month, still having off-and-on pain. Now what?

I did this to my little toe when I had a job working alongside a number of orthopedists. Every one said tape it if it makes you feel better, but mostly, alternate cold and hot (it might be too late for that now) AND that it could take months to heal completely -- which was the case. And they all said x-rays were not indicated --- BUT if it's not just the toe that's hurting and bruising, maybe you should go to the doctor!

Just an update, on the off chance that anybody is searching for broken toe info on Ask Metafiliter and they find this thread... my toe eventually healed up, without going to the doctor and getting a cast, or any of that. I still don't know if it was broken or what the heck.

I have broken my pinky toe. I saw a doctor and had it x-rayed and the whole deal (all the bruising i had was on my foot, so I was concerned I may have broken more than my toe, but I didn't). They told me wear stiff soled sneakers for a minimum of six weeks, and was told not to bother with taping. FWIW, I saw an orthapedist a year ago about my toe because it's been 5 years and my toe still swells up and hurts from time to time. I got an x-ray and he said it healed fine, but that toes can cause discomfort for a long time once broken, and that there's really nothing that can be done for a toe. Ice and elevating it helps.

When I broke my toe in karate a decade ago, in addition to the taping and anti-inflammatories, I got prescribed a hard shoe, which is basically what beandip describes above. I still had pain off and on for the next 8-10 weeks (it was my second toe, not the little one)--and I will never forget the sensation of bones moving inside my foot--but the hard shoe kept it from too many problems.

I broke a toe about a week after you did. I am currently going around in one of those velcro boot things beandip described above, and it definitely feels better in that than in a regular shoe. The doctors told me there wasn't really much else to be done about it other than resting it as much as possible.

I have broken both big toes and both little toes and by far the little toes hurt worse and for longer. The little toes were painful for about a year. Keep taping it to the next toe. I walked a lot at my job so I went to the doc and got pain meds.

I'd make a splint from a milk or laundry jug, and tape it to the toe to keep it immobilized. Googling "how to tape a broken toe" has a lot of what look like http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=7&cad=rja&sqi=2&ved=0CG0QFjAG&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nlm.nih.gov%2Fmedlineplus%2Fency%2Fpatientinstructions%2F000520.htm&ei=stS9UdihH4HC4AO71YCIAg&usg=AFQjCNHlVx_hhRlDJ_z-URuUegfkwi47OA&sig2=IfV4MUxr9E3jFVrZ6TfkEw&bvm=bv.47883778,d.dmg answers.

If you are going to tape, tape it until the break has healed, not just for a week. Avoid bending around the area as much as possible. You might need some shoes with stiff soles.

Thanks very much for all the advice, folks! Actually the foot is noticeably worse today than it's been for a while, which is just baffling. I've gone pretty easy on it, and haven't done anything to provoke it. While originally it seemed like the toe itself was the source of the injury, the pain right now seems a bit higher up, I feel it up in the knuckle and down in the ball of the foot. If I had cash to burn I'd definitely get it looked at, just to be safe. But it sounds like I probably don't have the kind of injury that's going to cause lifelong problems if I leave it alone for now, so that's what I'll do. I wish staying off my feet was an option, but my job doesn't work like that. I'm gonna try taping again and some ice, and hope this thing finally heals up already.