Broken toe

I broke my toe about three weeks ago stumbling into a door, that's what i get for walking up before 8 on my vacation. It's the little guy next to the pinky and it still hurts too much to put my climbing shoes on. The bruising has gone away but the swelling and tenderness remain. I was wondering if anyone has experienced this and has any advice on how to get back on the wall as quickly as possible. Thanks.

Yep, time. I fractured/sprained my foot barndooring off a problem, missing the pad and landing on a small rock spine in the dirt. Couldn't even walk the next day.

All you can do is stay off it as much as possible to let it heal. The more you mess around the worse it will get. I would recommend lightly taping it together with the nearest toe to keep it somewhat immobile.

Yep, unfortunately you have to give it time. Taping it to the bigger toe next to it will help to give it support as it heals. The only bone I've ever broken was a toe. It was a freak accident. I was in the pit at a Black Flag show and a stage dive went awry and the guy's elbow came down on my toe. Ouch!

Buy a pair of Chacos (if you don't already have them). They're great for broken toes. You can hike and mtn bike in them while you are recovering.

Thanks guys, I knew that time was really the only cure but I was kinda of hoping that somebody would know of some special moon shoe that took pressure off the toe completely or a miracle drug that science had not yet discovered but someone on Mountain Project had created in their bathtub.

If you are into alternative cures, buy some dried comfrey herb and soak it in aloe vera juice. Then mix it with aloe vera gel so that it is not quite so runny.

Then prepare a poultice with gauze pad and tape it onto your toe. Put a plastic bag over it because it is messy and sleep on it.

Comfrey is a folk herb used to heal broken bones-comfrey's traditional name is boneset. Aloe is amazing for all kind of healing situations.

I feel your pain, I just broke the biggest metatarsel in my foot two weeks ago, and unfortunately, you gotta give it time. The podiatrist said I shouldn't be climbing for at least three months... It's pretty lame, but time is the only thing that'll make it better.

Yeah, comfrey. Either get the root specifically (very cheap and easy to find) and make a poultice- grind in a coffee grinder, mix with hot water until it is the consistency of a paste, and apply to the area then wrap- or just buy an already made salve of it at any decent healthfood store (the easiest, and you can put it on every day before you put on your socks). You can use the root in limited quantities as a tea, but it has alkaloids in it that can damage your liver if you drink too much. Turmeric is a great alternative to ibuprofen, and aloe and plantain are good anti-inflammatories as well. Contrast bathing- putting your foot in hot water for 3 min, cold water for 30 sec, alternating for about 20 min and ending on cold- will bring a lot of blood to the area and speed healing. Take plenty of calcium, other minerals, and silica, and maybe tape it to the adjacent toe? I dunno, all I can tell you is comfrey and hydrotherapy can literally double the healing time of a broken bone.

Kevin Friesen wrote: Comfrey is a folk herb used to heal broken bones-comfrey's traditional name is boneset.

EVS,

Thanks for the info...I had the feeling that term wasn't quite right, but didn't have time to look it up.

Great info on the rest of it-hydrotherapy is easy and often overlooked, but is a powerful healing tool.

By the way, you need to edit, "... comfrey and hydrotherapy can literally double the healing time of a broken bone." to: "...comfrey and hydrotherapy can literally HALVE the healing time of a broken bone."

I am but a man...we all make mistakes, I think I meant to say "double the healing speed..."

As a side note, I am living proof of these methods. I broke my talus (ankle) literally in half May 31st. My doctor has subsequently told me everything is healing perfectly and quickly, which is I guess not usually the case with this kind of fracture in this location. I actually just went to the gym yesterday and climbed for the first time since the accident, with one rock shoe and a walking cast on the other foot. I can still climb 5.10, I'm pretty stoked.

Awesome!

Typically fractures will take 6 weeks to heal. Occasionally, certain fractures take longer.

If you really have to climb, you might have to do with some big mountain (alpine) boot with room and stiffness. Smeary routes and those near your limits will frustrate. Then, you might want to stick to TRs.

I went to the natural health store last night with the intention of getting myself some comfrey salve but the lady behind the desk convinced me to try symohytum, a homepathic, first. I also started the hydrotherapy last night. I will keep you guys updated on how it goes. Thanks for all of the suggestions.

Symphytum is the latin name for comfrey. You can certainly use that, but get some salve too asap. There is no issue with using homeopathics and herbal constituents at the same time. With fractures it is critical to use the actual herb.

EVS is right. A poultice (or salve...a poultice of salve is much better since it keeps it concventrated on the wound for hours) provides nourishment from the outside throught the skin, greatly speeding healing. The toe especially needs this since it is challenged to get really good circulation. (the hydrotherapy does helps that)

I want to thank everyone for the advice, my toe seems to be healing at a faster rate than before. I am taking the homeopathic comfrey, using the ointment, and doing the hydrotheraphy on a daily basis. The pain is going away considerably, but it is still rather uncomfortable to be a in a climbing shoe two sizes smaller than your shoe size(yea, i put them on about every day just to see if i am able to climb). As the swelling goes down, it seems I have developed quite the calcium deposit at the base of my toe. Will this ever go away or will I have a velociraptor toe forever? Is my foot modeling career coming to an end?

edit: sp