BROKEN FOOT

Overview and Facts

A broken foot is a bone fracture. During a car collision, you can suffer a broken foot or by a simple misstep or fall. A fractured foot differs in its severity. Fractures can range from minor fractures to splits in your bones that pierce your skin. The treatment of a broken foot depends on the precise position of the injury and its severity. A badly damaged foot may require surgery to insert plates, rods, or screws into the broken bone to sustain a correct location during recovery.

Types and Symptoms

SYMPTOMS

Broken bones are painful, particularly when they are bearing weight. Listed below are the signs and symptoms of a broken bone in the foot:

Immediate, palpitating pain
Pain that increases with activity and with rest it decreases
Inflammation
Bruising on the fractured site
Limping
Deformity
Difficulty walking or weight carrying

Some symptoms and signs of a broken foot may also include:

Joint dislocation: A foot deformity may be evident if the bones are substantially displaced (the bone balance has been lost or there is an underlying joint dislocation).
People with existing ailments or conditions: with an impaired sense of pain attributable to peripheral neuropathy (a classic example of people with diabetes), pain may not be present. The injury may initially be overlooked. Also, to patients who have a spinal cord injury, the broken foot can occur. It may appear to those who have a broken foot: bruising, swelling, and deformity.

Diagnosis & Medications

DIAGNOSIS

The health care provider treats a broken foot and asks about the history of how the accident happened. The injury will give signs of what type of injury may occur and, most importantly, what other associated injuries may also occur. It is helpful to consider how much time has elapsed when the incident occurs before providing treatment to the patient. It is necessary to have prior medical history, to identify patients with diabetes or other diseases that weaken the immune system because they are at an increased risk of foot injury infections.

TREATMENT

Rest, elevation, and cold compression; can provide first aid at home. The use of crutches to prevent weight bearing as tolerated can require rest.
However, if the diagnostic is taken to obtain further attention after the patient is released from the hospital to go home, this regimen may be continued.
A foot fracture care depends on what bone is fractured, the injury cause, the patient’s underlying medical condition, and whether the fracture is exposed (the skin is cracked) or closed (the skin is intact).
With the injured toe “buddy taped” to an adjacent regular toe, broken toes are also handled symptomatically. It may be beneficial to put cotton balls or other absorbent material between the toes to avoid dampness and skin damage. A stiff-soled shoe and crutches may be needed to help with walking. Within 4 to 6 weeks, healing can occur.
To allow faster healing, fractures of the great toe that are displaced can require surgery. This choice could be selected by an orthopedic surgeon or podiatrist (foot specialist), but sometimes the decision is electively taken a few days after the injury.