Well, I accidentally ended 2015 with a BANG! And by that I mean I banged my toe so bad twice yesterday. The first time was on the leg of a heavy wooden chair. Then, I was at the house by myself and heard a noise and got up to check on it and hit my toe on the edge of the big old wooden coffee table.
It actually looks worse now. It got progressively got more swollen and more purple as the day went on. It’s not the end of the world, but it’s the end of my happiness since I live to run. I am devastated.
I put it in a big bowl of ice water for a while. I took some Ibuprofen.
Then, I did the obvious next thing call 911 go to Instagram and ask for help. You did not disappoint because I got a ton of helpful advice.
Helpful advice included:
kathm31Ice….in a glass….with alcohol. And maybe throw a little on the toe as well, can’t hurt
rafitarrue Eat tamales in the morning, pizza for lunch and tacos for supper, for 3 days. That’s a very good treatment
mish_sloan Ice, ibuprofen, some wine, and wear protective shoes just in case you accidentally stub it a third time today? But most importantly wine
alisonfarageBuddy tape it to the next toe for support (put a Lil cotton ball in between to prevent any skin issues). Ice and elevation.
megan.little.50Ice and arnica. From an almost real doc…4 more papers to go!
You are the best!! Thank you.
To distract from the pain Ben and I headed over to his sister’s house for dinner.
She got a huge bag of fresh clams! We had clams in garlic butter sauce, noodles and some super healthy greens from her garden.
Dessert was cotton candy courtesy of the boys’ new cotton candy machine they got for Christmas. (It’s in the background.)
Frasier is such a friendly kitty!
I hung out with Alyda and Doug the dog while they made cotton candy.
Ben tried to do the Run Eat Repeat with the baby. Baby Eat Repeat?
And on the way home we stopped for supplies to help my sad broken toe. A lot of the advice said to “buddy wrap” it, which means you wrap it to the toe next to it to keep it straight and stable.
I tried the Toe Wraps this morning, but it didn’t work very well. Since it’s my pinkie toe it’s small and the toe wrap is a little long for it. The toe wrap sticks out a bit and I thought it would hurt even more to have that additional cushion since my toe is already so swollen. I used the tape to wrap it instead. The tape worked okay, but even though it’s waterproof it’s not ‘Florida sweaty foot trying to run’ proof. Read: It ended up moving around a bit, but did the job.
So, yes I was able to run on it this morning. It still hurt for the first mile, but either the pain went away or it went numb (totally not sure which).
I do think it’s dumb to run on it if it hurts (or to run on any hurt body part) but I desperately needed the endorphins. Desperately. Trust me.
Now I’m going to ice it for 10 minutes and elevate it while replying to emails. If it gets worse I won’t run tomorrow. If it gets better I probably still won’t run since it’s a rest day. Ha!
Oh no, I’m so sorry! That sounds so painful. Here’s to a pain-free 2016!
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Ouch. No real advice, just here to offer a little schadenfreude… I once broke my toe falling out of bed (while I was awake and talking to my roommate.) I hope your toe feels better soon.
This literally happened to me a month ago!!! http://www.lovestrengthdirection.com/#!Me-My-Boot/cmbz/5651cd6f0cf29bcc7d6adb7b
My drunk mom dropped herself and a barstool on my pinky toe and it was AWFUL. Tried running after one week and it was still terrible. Ended up taking 3 weeks off of running and then slowly got back into it. It still gets sore now and then but for the most part it’s okay. Wear flip flops … Take a lot of ibuprofen … Ice whenever … And just pray. If it’s broken (fortunately mine wasn’t), it’ll take longer than a few weeks. Hopefully it’s just a bad bruise!!
FEEL BETTER!
Ouch! It’s a bad year for broken bones. I fell down the garage stairs on Christmas Eve and broke my elbow, wrist, and foot (I am a total overachiever). No running for me for a bit 🙁
I hear you on needing the endorphins- I call them therapy miles! Hope your toe feels better soon 🙂
I broke my pinkie toe like that a few years ago. It hurt so bad it brought tears to my eyes. How does such a little bone hurt so much? Can’t do much besides buddy wrap it.
My sister broke her baby toe a bunch do times. One time it was sideways and she just smacked it back in place and moved on. She just iced it and tried her best to tape it. Not much to do since it’s so small. Just keep doing what you’re doing and it should get better.
Ahhh! That sounds so painful.
You poor thing!! Hope it feels better in the morning!!
I sprained my little toe and the 2nd toe earlier this year (IDK why the other toes didn’t get hurt?). It hurt so bad! I did get them x-rayed to be sure I didn’t break them (plus it was a work injury). The doctor gave me one of those shoe things to wear – open toe, velcro closure.
I think I abstained from running for 2 weeks until the swelling went down. Maybe a bit more (whatever the doc said). They were still tender for quite awhile but I would run when I could.
I am really good at smashing my toes on things. I don’t understand why they need to be so sensitive – I could use less nerves in my feet so it doesn’t hurt so badly when I smash into things.
Hopefully it’s not broken and you can keep on running!
Bummer! I can’t offer any medical advice, but I am also an adrenaline junkie so I feel your pain. You should find a pool and try swimming laps!
This sounds horrible! I am accident prone as well. It’s an issue. Rest that toe lady!
I did the exact same thing to my pinkie toe this past spring, although it was a steel bed leg. I continued to run on it for a week before I finally went to the doctor as the swelling and awful color didn’t get better. Don’t let the fact you are able to run on it fool you because you don’t want to make it worse. Anyway, my instruction was to buddy tape it and avoid high-impact exercise for 3-4 weeks. I am also a runner so this diagnosis killed me, but I used the opportunity to try different things like the Ryder class at Core Power Yoga and still went to my crosstrain class but used the elliptical instead of the tread. Wear shoes, be careful and when in doubt, have a cocktail.
Thanks for chiming in! Did they confirm it was broken?
I did this exact thing last summer. I ran on it. The toe did not fall off even though I thought it might.
Holy…those aqua cabinets…they are my life! I will not rest now until my kitchen cabinets are that color! I never knew I could need something so much.
Also, sorry about your toe! I hope it starts to feel better fast.
She painted them herself!
ouch! hopefully it’s not actually broken- just really bruised. i’ve done that before and it hurts like B for about 3 days and then it’s fine.
I hope that’s the case too!
Um yes! I FEEL you pain! I dropped a huge jar of pickles on my toe a few weeks ago!