How to tell if your toe is broken or sprained

It can be difficult to distinguish a broken finger and a sprained toe. Sometimes you hear the bones breaking, or you can see that the finger has been beaten for their support (ie, dislocation). These signs and symptoms usually point a broken toe, not a traumatic sprain. However, stress fractures, which usually are not caused by a single traumatic event may be more difficult to distinguish.

Both strains and stress fractures cause swelling and pain in the injured area. The two are often not diagnosed by a doctor because the pain comes and goes, and the injured person is able to walk and continue their usual daily activity. But this mobility can be misleading. untreated or sprains and stress fractures in the feet can cause pain, deformity chronic foot and ankle arthritis, knee and hip pain. For example, the Jones fracture (a type of fracture occurs at the base of the fifth metatarsal or toe small foot) is often misdiagnosed as a sprained ankle. But the treatment of a Jones fracture and an ankle sprain can lead to serious complications in the future.

To distinguish a sprained toe, fractured a toe to go, you should consult your doctor. Fractures often require an x-ray a definitive diagnosis (such as "hairline" fracture appears as a faint line in the metatarsal bone in the x-ray). Another distinguishing factor is the location pain. Traumatic stress fractures occur most often in what doctors call your pain. This pain occurs exactly at the point of fracture. Sprains, on the contrary, they cause pain and swelling more generally in the affected area.

Toe fractures and sprains are often treated by freezing injury, lead comfortable shoes that protect the toes and, above all, to rest your feet. fractures (especially traumatic fractures) are often treated with a finger splint to keep still. Sometimes the toe incident took place near the feet also, in an effort to stabilize the injured foot. This treatment is called "companion verification. "A hard-soled shoe can also be used as a kind of splint device. In more severe cases, surgery may be necessary. All these treatments are, of course, the matter should be discussed with your primary care physician or podiatrist.

About the Author

Jane Barron works for OddShoeFinder.com,a free online website that helps people find mismatched footwear.Get more information on deformed feet, corrective shoes or foot length difference.

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