“How can my daughter manage a broken toe without surgery?”
My 14 year old daughter accidentally dropped something on her toe and it's now broken. How can my daughter manage a broken toe without surgery?
16 Answers
It depends on the extend of the fracture and if there are conservative treatments available. I would speak with your local podiatrist or consult my office for full potential eval. and treatment plan.
Treatment will depend on the location within the toe where the fracture occurred, the size and stability of the fractured site. Most commonly, a surgical shoe/post-op shoe and buddy splinting the toe is adequate treatment. However, I recommend seeking appropriate treatment from a medical professional as a poorly treated fracture in a child can have negative effects later in life.
Limit amb.
Very simply, have her wear a stiff soled shoe and buddy tape to the other toe. This will splint the toe and the stiff shoe will keep the toe from bending. Toes heal very well in 4 weeks and usually do not require surgery.
Splint the toe with half inch tape to the next toe. May have to do this for 4 weeks
Not a simple answer unless you know the answer to these questions: Is the fracture displaced, partially displaced closed reduceable, stabile, can she wear a surgical shoe dependably for 6 weeks? Once you have these answers, you may or may not have alternatives to surgery.
Broken toes rarely need surgery unless poorly aligned or dislocated. Usually a surgical shoe which splints the foot is all that’s needed for 2-4 weeks. See a podiatrist for xray evaluation and management
A broken toe can be treated with icing and buddy tapping the toe to to the next bigger toe. The important thing is that the toe be x-rayed to make sure the fracture is not displaced. It will usually take 4-6 weeks for the fracture to heal. You daughter has to. Decrease her activities until the fracture heals.
Most broken toes do not need surgery. The break needs to be evaluated and will likely be treated via splinting and and a special shoe or boot. In addition, this type of surgery will not be scheduled for some time due to covid19 and the toe will likely be healed or nearly healed.
Without an X-ray, I cannot opine on a good result, however, many closed fractures will heal with immobilization and compression. Open fractures are a different story as you have to treat to prevent or treat the infection. This can be achieved with non weight bearing with crutches, scooter, or wheel chair and compression with an elastic bandage such as an ace bandage or other compression bandage 1/2" wide or small enough to surround the toe without being to tight to cause pain. This could take 6-8 weeks before weight bearing without pain and swelling without the compression bandage. If this is unsuccessful, X-ray may tell you what is going on and what needs to be done.
Jan David Tepper, D.P.M., FACFASCEO
Jan David Tepper, D.P.M., FACFASCEO
There is no simple answer this question. You need to coordinate with the physician or urgent care who made the diagnosis of a broken toe and what their treatment protocol would be. Sometimes surgery is necessary, other times it is not.
Thank you,
Dr. Mark Gorman
Thank you,
Dr. Mark Gorman
If it is not displaced then buddy taping the broken toe to the adjacent toe daily can help. Also wearing a surgical shoe will prevent bending of the toe while it heals.
The best way to manage a broken toe. If it is not displaced is to splint the toe to the toe next to it using some type of tape. Also, would recommend wear some type of stiff soled shoe so that the toe is immobilized.
Jonathan M. Kletz, DPM
Jonathan M. Kletz, DPM
It depends how badly it is broken. If the toe is only cracked, it can be splinted with tape to the toe next toe it and a stiff soled shoe worn for a month. If the toe is pointing in a wrong direction it may be dislocated or the break may have shifted the bone, in which case it may been more aggressive treatment. Regardless, it's a good idea to see your doc to properly evaluate and treat the injury,
Most digital fractures and many other fractures do not require surgery to heal. Immobilization in a walking boot or cast (not for a digital fracture) is often all that is necessary, with rest and time away from athletics or heavy activity. There are several determining factors in deciding whether a fracture requires surgery, including the amount of gap between fracture fragments (should not exceed more than 2mm), rotation/angulation/or displacement of the fracture, which may cause the bone to heal in an abnormal position, or fractures in areas of low blood flow, or the healing potential may be lower than normal for other reasons. But digital fractures are usually just splinted to the toe(s) that they are next to, limit activity/rest, ice it when it is painful, take anti-inflammatories for pain, and it should heal fine if it is not displaced much.
A broken toe will usually heal on its own if it is stabilized and as long as the growth plates are not involved. I recommend you have your daughter evaluated by a foot and ankle surgeon (podiatrist) to determine the appropriate treatment.
