I've had a few people ask me about what to do for broken toes so I will share my story.
I broke my toe at 11 pm by dropping a notebook battery/adapter on my foot. When it first happened, it hurt, but I was able to walk on it. 5 minutes later, I was suddenly NOT able to walk on it at all and I iced for about 1 hour. The 4th toe was swollen and purple. I fell asleep praying that it would be better by the next morning.
Unfortunately, the next morning, I was not able to put any weight on it at all. Luckily, I had a pair of old crutches and I went to the ER that afternoon. After doing some X-Rays, they told me that I had broken the lower part of the 4th toe horizontally. I was told to rest, ice, and elevate the foot. They showed me how to buddy tape the broken toe to the healthy toe next to it. I did exactly that for the next 2 weeks. I iced it regularly, I rested it as much as possible, and I used the crutches to help me move around. For 2 weeks, I was not able to put any pressure on my foot at all.
After doing some searching on google, I found a herb called comfrey that supposedly helps with broken bones. Wholefoods had it in stock, so I got Gaia Herbs Comfrey Compound Salve. I put the salve liberally on the toe and within a few minutes, I felt like my toe was being massaged and slightly constricted. It was a weird feeling, but I felt that the salve was doing something to heal my toe. I put the salve all around the toe, placed a thin sheet of gauze around the toe, and then buddy taped it (picture in the June blog; the green coloring is the salve). After doing this for 3-4 days, I was able to put some weight on my foot. I'm not sure if the Comfrey was the cure, or if the fact that I rested the foot for 2 weeks was the cure, but I was slowly able to put some weight on the foot on the 3rd week.
I was also given a little boot called Darco Medical Shoe Wedge that had a big heel which relieved the pressure off of the toes. Wearing this shoe allowed me to walk for longer periods and I was able to start going out and I was able to go grocery shopping, go to the movies, and I even went camping. I never walked more than 1/2 mile total, but at least it allowed me to start walking. One major negative about this shoe was that it gave me a backache because one side of your body is higher due to the wedge. If it's not one thing, it's another :(
I'm on the 4th week, and I started walking without the Darco shoe, but it's still sore and the foot starts tingling if I walk too much. I only walk around the house, but I make sure that I'm wearing slippers to help the foot stay flat.
Luckily, I work from home during the summer, so I was able to really stay off my feet for the first few weeks which I think helped with the recovery. I go into the doctor again next week, so we'll see what happens. I hope my little story has helped somebody with a broken toe because this has been an ordeal for me too. Who knew that a little toe can wreck havoc on your entire body!
