Outdoor activities, indoor sports, or even simply stubbing your toe or dropping something on it can easily lead to broken bones. When this occurs, the first thing that you are likely to notice is pain, swelling, and bruising to the affected area. You may also experience some stiffness in your toe. The pain can feel pretty intense and you are likely to find it very uncomfortable to walk or to put on shoes.

The pain associated with a broken toe can usually be managed with over-the-counter medicines such as Ibuprofen, Aleve, or acetaminophen. You should also rest the toe as much as possible and keep it elevated. For the first 24 hours, you may also wish to apply ice to it in order to reduce the swelling.

The pain and swelling should subside within a few days but it can take anywhere between four to six weeks for the toe to heal fully. Once the swelling has gone down, you can walk on it and do normal daily activities. However, you should start slowly and increase the amount of walking that you do each day to avoid injuring the toe further. For extra support, you may want to wrap medical tape around the top and the one next to it. This will help stabilize it a little bit while it heals. If you are noticing any stiffness in your toe, don’t worry. As your muscles begin to stretch and strengthen, this discomfort will go away on its own.

You normally don’t need to seek medical care when you have broken any of your smaller toes unless there is an open wound or you are experiencing sudden numbness or tingling in your foot. However, if you see that the toe is crooked, the bone may be out of place. In this case, you should seek medical treatment so that the bone can be straightened which will allow it to heal properly. You should visit your healthcare provider if you have injured your big toe as it may need a cast or a splint to heal.