how do you know if you have broken a toe?

[nowwearefour]

i stubbed my little toe v v v hard earlier this evening. it still v v v v hurts. hard to tell if i can bend it or not as not sure little toes bend???

Done this twice - once years ago and went to casualty, got x-rayed etc to be told yes it was broken but nothing you can do for a broken little toe. Second time I didn't bother with casualty, just milked it for all the sympathy and help I could get. Also broke toenail in half to make it extra gruesome.
Put an ice pack on it to ease bruising and swelling, have a drink and get well soon.

When I broke mine it bruised pretty much instantly and this got much, much worse over a couple of days.

Walking was also very painful for weeks!

Same advice. X-rayed and confirmed broken but no treatment.

my little toes have never bruised in all the times i have broken them (many many!) but they are difficult to walk on and hurt with shoes on, and may or may not swell up(i am a wired freak and when i break something i don't swell up)

when mine was broken it stuck out at pretty much a right angle to my foot, went blue and i couldn't eat anything it was my little toe too, i actually hit it on a doorframe
couldn't get shoe on, couldn't put any weight at all on foot, an a&e nurse suggested walking on my heel but i couldn't put any pressure at all on the foot = any part of it, pain shot up my leg.

I heard mine crack and felt it swell instantly. Didn't have it xrayed for a couple of days, then decided i better had. You could try taping it to the toe next to it, but don't use thick tape. You have to cut the tape in half (use micropore) so that you have 2 thin strips. Put a piece of lint in between your toes (to absorb sweat) and tape above and below the joint in your toe. If you tape over the joint, then you will make it heal funny so that it can't bend when it's better. If it's broken you have to do this for 2 weeks!!
Good luck - hope it feels better soon.

my mum broke hers. It went black and hurt a lot. She got it x-rayed but they can't / won't? do anything about a broken toe, you can only rest it. The pain lasted a couple of weeks too.

thanks all. mine feels much much better this am so guess it isnt broken. it is bruised and swollen and sore but not nearly as painful as last night so is rob ok. havent tried shoes with it yet. it seems it is more common than i thought!!