How do you know if you've broken your foot?

[Sarahlou63]

Managed to drop a cast iron post banger on my foot this morning. Doh. It's very swollen and horribly painful but I can wriggle my toes. Other than ice, time and painkillers is there anything else I can do?

Last year I fell and twisted my foot. It hurt, swelled and bruised from toe to ankle. I could weight bear and wiggle my toes. So I followed the advice on the NHS website, ice packs, rest, elevation.
A week later I finally went to A&E. It was broken (5th metatarsal).
I'd see how it is tomorrow and try not to walk on it.

x ray

Unless there is a bone sticking out the skin, you won't know unless you seek medical assistance.

X-ray is the only way you are going to find out. If it broken, you need treatment sooner rather than later.

There are so many bones in the foot you will never know for sure without an X Ray.

If it's still bothering you today seek medical attention, an untreated break can cause further issues elsewhere. If you're not in extreme pain maybe you can get your GP to get you an x Ray referral rather than going in through A&E.

Go and get an xray. Some minor injury units can do this if you want to avoid a&e.

My DH did something similar recently and waited 2 days before going to a&e. It wasn't broken but they said he should have gone earlier because if he had they could have more easily drained the blood from under his toe nail. As he left it so long it congealed and has caused a lot of pain and now an infection. So even if it's not broken there might be something else that needs addressing

Thanks all. It's a lot less painful today so I think it's just bruised rather than broken.

I slipped off a step and my foot swelled almost immediately. I thought it would go down but it was still swollen and painful after about 5 days so DH took me to our local Minor Injuries unit where they found I had a minor fracture of at the base of the 5th metatarsal. I would move my ankle and wriggle my toes as well, which made me think that I'd only badly sprained it.

Comforting thing was that there was no need for plaster or a boot, just wrapped up in padding with a tubigrip over the top.

could move

I have a family member who had an undiagnosed break for 5 months, it eventually showed up on an MRI scan.

I also has an undiagnosed fracture for several months!

If it bruised instantly it's likely it's broken. Hope you get better soon!

xray
even if you can walk on it it could still be broken.
go and get seen, untreated fractures in feet can cause you lots of issues later in life.

An xray

I broke my foot a few years ago - it was painful but I could walk on it - just.

Last year I stood up awkwardly on a numb foot and twisted it badly. There was a pop and a huge lump, bruising and pain. I could not walk on this one. Went for an xray and it was just badly sprained.

So pain and/or swelling isn't a guaranteed way to determine if a bone is fractured or not.

hopefully not.

My little girl fractured her fifth metatarsal. She has been in a cast for three months. One of the things that made me take her to ED quickly was her complaint of “zingy” feeling in her foot and leg

Do walked around on a fractured foot for st least a week. It was swollen and painful but he could walk pretty much normally. When he had it x-rayed, it showed up. He was just given a flat sandal type thing to wear.

That should be dp.

All better now