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Does this toe look broken to you

34 replies

whatisforteamum · 22/09/2026 18:18

Nasty picture attached.**
I stubbed it earlier on something cast iron.
The underside is mostly pink.
It's swollen alot and obviously painful.I have a high pain threshold so managed at work.
Do you think it's broken.?

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whatisforteamum · 22/09/2026 18:19

Sorry about my feet

Does this toe look broken to you
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PashaMinaMio · 22/09/2026 18:26

No picture yet of your toe but I broke my number 3 toe on August 10th on a wobbly out of alignment supermarket trolley wheel.

After 3 weeks of awful pain the surgery para-medic confirmed broken.

Notting to be done, just strap it to the toe alongside to act as a “splint.”

I bought the strapping tape from Sainsbury’s. Worked a treat & now healed enough to be comfortable enough to wear trainers again.

IF it’s your big toe … seek medical advice. Might need surgery.

whatisforteamum · 22/09/2026 18:30

Ah thanks.Ove never broken anything else before but it's gone black tbh.

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whatisforteamum · 22/09/2026 20:09

Image is here now

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Mossstitch · 22/09/2026 20:14

Probably as there is a line across the bruise but they'd only buddy stap it at A & E so may as well do it yourself (tape it to the next toe with a bit of lint/cotton wool between the toes to absorb sweat). I'd recommend crocs, they seem to help with the pain on walking due to the stiff sole👍

RatsCatsandPuppies · 22/09/2026 20:18

I broke my little toe in the summer and it looked just like this, so yes I think yours is probably broken. As pp said the doctor just strapped mine to the toe next to it, and it got better on its own.

MamaBobo · 22/09/2026 20:18

Mine looked like that…it was bloody agony. Crocs were a godsend as I couldn’t walk in ordinary shoes at all. There isn’t much to be done though….just make sure you are careful not to stub it on anything else and very careful putting on undies! If you catch it on anything you’ll test your high pain threshold!!

Tiptopflipflop · 22/09/2026 20:22

Yes. Looks like the toe I broke recently. Medical advice was to buddy strap it to the adjoining toe for 4 weeks, and wear rigid sole shoes for 6 weeks. I bought a carbon fibre insert on Amazon and wore that in my normal shoes

whatisforteamum · 22/09/2026 20:43

Thanks for the advice.Not sure how it will be in the morning.
I work on my feet and have been offered a lift in.
Holiday starts Thursday.

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PrettyLittleRose · 22/09/2026 20:46

It's impossible to say from that photo @whatisforteamum Even a doctor couldn't tell without a physical examination (and probably an X-Ray.) It depends how painful it is too. Whether just a bit ouchy, or 'takes your breath away' pain.

I would consider contacting/popping to the GP tomorrow, to get it looked at. If that's not possible, maybe A & E. Really hard to say though from one picture.

DinoLil · 22/09/2026 20:50

Probably. I've broken toes and fingers and they've looked like that (I know it's not a competition!). A&E will be unlikely to do anything. It's annoying, I know.

Iliketulips · 22/09/2026 20:51

I never got mine checked, but did something very similar to yours. I couldn't tolerate anything against it for a long time, so wore some quality flip-flops I had, not rubber. I really hobbled around for 2-3 weeks. As winter approached along with wet weather, I bought some mesh typre trainers that were wide across my toes. Could be worth checking out some orthopedic ones.

Supersimkin7 · 22/09/2026 20:51

Medics won’t do anything except strap it to toe 4, which you can do at home. You can bruise the bone which is flipping agony but not a break.

Don’t let it ruin your holiday 💐

Supersimkin7 · 22/09/2026 20:52

Medics won’t do anything except strap it to toe 4, which you can do at home. You can bruise the bone which is flipping agony but not a break.

Don’t let it ruin your holiday 💐

sandwalk · 22/09/2026 20:55

As PP said, Crocs are good if you hurt your feet and it swells, I wore them for a similar toe injury and a sprained foot. I don't think there is much you can do for a suspected broken little toe apart from strap it up

whatisforteamum · 22/09/2026 20:56

It is a weird bruise that is darker by my foot than the photo

Does this toe look broken to you
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anonMH · 22/09/2026 21:00

I had a bad fall/ coccyx injury a couple of weeks ago. I went to an and e for a wrist x ray cos that was also injured. As expected, they said they no longer bother to x ray for things that they cannot treat - coccyx being one of them. I was told if it was better in 2-4 weeks it was prob bruising , if 1-3 months it was fractured.

I don’t know if they apply the same logic to fingers and toes!

Noseyoldcow · 22/09/2026 21:02

I’d want that looked at by a professional. As previous posters have pointed out, if indeed it is broken, all they’ll do is strap it to the adjacent toe to support it. But I’d want to make sure that the discolouration really is just bruising and that the blood flow is as it should be.

sandwalk · 22/09/2026 21:03

When I hurt my toe, it was the second little one, not sure it was broken as I never had it checked, there was bruising all round my foot and a bit of swelling, not just the toe. I think if you hurt your feet the bruising always looks extensive, it also did when I sprained my foot on another occasion

MeowDoku · 22/09/2026 21:05

As someone who has broken 3 toes and a foot on separate occasions over the last few years, yep it looks broken to me..I would go and get it x rayed , twice I have had to have the knuckle relocated and once it really didn't look like it was out of place. The other time my toe was pointing the wrong way so that was more obvious

sandwalk · 22/09/2026 21:07

I would probably see if you can get an appointment with the nurse at the GP, they generally look at that sort of injury, or a minor injury unit if you have one if you are worried

BigWig78 · 22/09/2026 21:08

Yup broken I’d say. But I wouldn’t waste time at minor injuries etc unless you become unable to weight-bear. You can buddy tape it to its neighbour but you don’t need to. It might look a bit wonky forever now but baby toes are often quite wonky tbh. Pain relief and Crocs

whatisforteamum · 22/09/2026 21:11

MeowDoku that sounds awful.
I walked into my weights as it was dark so kicked it full pelt.

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RosesAndHellebores · 22/09/2026 21:19

If your little toe doesn't always sit at an angle to yiur foot, I'd pop.to A&E. It may need to be put back in place. I've had little toe bruising like that. A doctor friend said it was most likely broken but nothing to do except strap to its neighbour.

It was summer, all I.could walk in was a pair of wooden scholls for about a month.

Tanfastic · 22/09/2026 21:43

I broke my toe I think in two places just before Xmas. I didn’t get it x-rayed but a surgeon colleague (I work in NHS) took a look at it and confirmed it was broken. It looked a bit like yours (my fourth toe though) but my whole foot went green! It took three months to heal but I didn’t do anything with it, just wore flat shoes with a hard sole and limped for a while.

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