Broke my stupid foot (plus an actual question)

[Astral]

Just when I thought the sprained ankle was better, it gave out on me walking down the stairs... and I broke my foot. Fractured the pinky toe metatarsal. He said it was a pretty clean fracture, and though I have an ortho appointment later in the week, he seemed comfortable sending me home with a boot and crutches. Know what sucks when living alone in a tiny two-floor apartment? A boot and crutches. I thought I had dragged everything up the stairs with me, but seem to have forgotten my icepacks (the kitchen is downstairs, everything else is up, and it took about ten minutes to get up the stairs). So I'm using icewater-soaked towels (I'm going to sleep soon anyhow).

My question is the boot. I can't seem to find any mention as to whether it's okay to leave it on overnight. Because I'd much rather - it's very cold right now, so I have a bunch of really heavy blankets, and I'm afraid they'll just crush the foot. Is that okay to do? I honestly don't remember what the Urgent Care doc said about that....

[fergusnc]

I'm so sorry! Can you call back to urgent care and ask...or are they closed for the night?

I broke a pinky toe once...it was horrible! I never went to the doc, just put it back in place from its right angle position to the rest of my foot, used crutches and bought a pair of danskos one size bigger than normal at the 4 day horse show I was on my way to when my dog broke it. Extra socks on my ok foot and the bigger size on my bad foot. People laughed at my need for crutches with "just a pinky toe" but I absolutely could not walk on it and it took quite awhile to feel better. I just assumed there was nothing the doctor could do for me, so never went...I bet a boot would've made it feel a lot better! Now that you mention the heavy blanket concerns, it brings back distant memories of exactly what you were worried about...the weight of those blankets. I broke my toe in the summer so I slept with my foot off to the side, uncovered, but not hanging down as that hurt as well.

I hope you feel better soon and get some answers from folks with boot experience.

[Astral]

Ugh, your pinky toe experience sounds unpleasant as well! This is actually the... foot bone... that attaches to the pinky toe. It would be so much easier if it was one of the middle bones - it's easy to overlook how much weight you bear on the outside of your foot - as you know from your experience!
(And urgent care is closed for the night - only open until 8pm)

[Chisamba]

One of the individuals I care for had a boot for a broken toe and yes we were supposed to leave it on at night.

[Tarlo Farm]

For a while anyway. You'll know, it will hurt. And as my Dr said (wish he'd told me sooner) with broken bones, you aren't supposed to power through the pain. If the bone hurts, stop doing what you're doing. Another great bit of advice I got from a PT was to remember your knees are weight-bearing. Get a good pair of kneepads and use them. I've spent three months vacuuming the house on my knees. I don't like crutches, too hard to carry stuff.
You can easily and quickly climb stairs by using the knee on the broken foot, and the foot of your good leg. The good leg can scale three or four stairs at a time while your knee stabilizes your body. This works both going up and down. You will soon find out how often you drop stuff, and what a PITA a simple thing like dropping something is. Hang in there.
Remember, DON'T try to power through bone pain.

[Kramer]

I broke that bone a couple of years ago and it took 5 months to heal! I kept doing too much, so don't do that.
The boot should stay on at night until you get the all clear to remove it. I did take mine off when I was on the couch with my foot elevated.
Couple of helpful hints. You can buy extra boots on E Bay or Craigslist. You'll want a spare when the weather warms up because they can't get pretty stinky.

[Moutaineer]

No advice, just sympathy. What a total pain. Heal fast!

[Astral]

Thanks, everyone!
Good call on getting another boot, Kramer - that didn't even occur to me...
Tarlo - thanks for the advice on the stairs! I had tried pushing myself up on my butt, and your method was so much quicker.
I have an appointment with the orthopedic surgeon tomorrow, so I'll know more then.
So uhhh... for those with similar breaks... what was your timeframe for returning to riding? I see a lot of no stirrup work in my future Obviously, once the boot comes off...

[Kramer]

Riding was tough because the stirrup caused a lot of pain. I was pretty comfortable after about 6 months. Before that I rode w/out stirrups or bareback.

[fergusnc]

Mine was my right foot, so I could get on from a tall mounting block without too much issue....just had tobe smart about pushing off...and I had someone hold my 3 1/2 year old horse to be safe. Then I did no stirrups. I took it easy for awhile I think...it took many months to be pain free (again, I had no boot bc I was a dingbat). My trainer continued our training rides, I did very light riding, and I'd allow a very small pool (like pool of 2) very trusted boarders or students to take a lesson on my horse to help keep him going.

[Astral]

So it sounds like riding plans for the summer will probably be put on hold So it goes. He doesn't mind the time off (he's 22 this year), and while there are people at the barn I'd be comfortable working him, his reaction is still (albeit rarely, at this point) to rear, so he's a bit of a liability He can just hang out for now.

The orthopedic surgeon gave me permission to put weight on it, with the boot, if I'm comfortable doing so. Crutches as needed. I'm still pretty dependent on them, but it makes it easier navigating the kitchen, just shuffling around.

Going back to work tomorrow, but on a limited capacity... my job is fairly physical, so I'm forcing myself to focus more on office work and more low-key things.

And now that I'm going back to work and putting weight on it, a second boot seems like a REALLY good idea, since I'm still sleeping in it... need an inside boot and an outside boot

[Chisamba]

hope it feels better soon

[boots-aregard]

(Everytime I see this thread, I think: "Well, I'm glad she didn't break the smart foot!")

[Astral]

(Everytime I see this thread, I think: "Well, I'm glad she didn't break the smart foot!")

The smart foot had the sense and self-preservation not to get broken!

[chantal]

Oh phooey!! I've broken my little toe and now have severely bruised big toe (45lb weight plate fell on it). I can't imagine the pain, physically and in your daily life... I agree with not pushing through bone pain. It's there for a reason.

Sending healing thoughts your way!!