Fracture of toe: symptoms and treatment

Fracture of the toe may occur due to very tight shoes, strong impact, tucking of the foot and so on. But there are also pathological conditions of phalanges, which arise due to some diseases that cause a significant decrease in the strength of bones. These include osteoporosis, osteomyelitis, hyperparathyroidism, oncological diseases and so on. However, today we will consider only those cases when a fracture of the toe occurred mechanically due to an unsuccessful fall, stroke, and so on.

Types of fractures

Currently, fractures of the joints are classified as follows:

• Open (that is, fragments of bone tissue broke through the muscle, ligaments and skin, resulting in them coming out and contacting the environment).
• Closed (that is, the finger bone is broken, but there are no external lesions completely).
• Without bias.
• With offset.
• Incomplete
• Complete.
• Localized (that is, only the nail phalanx is broken, etc.).

The main signs of a broken toe

Of course, not to notice this deviation is quite difficult. But there are also such cases that outwardly the person can not independently understand, whether he has a bone of a phalanx or it is a strong bruise. In this regard, in medical practice, all the symptoms are divided into relative (that is, the fracture is only supposed) and absolute, which accurately indicate that the bone is actually broken.

So, you have a broken toe, if:

• The impact site is very sore;
• The finger is swollen;
• There is a hemorrhage under the skin or nail plate;
• It is very painful to move.

The absolute attributes include the following:

• Obvious crunch of bone fragments with pressure;
• The unnatural position of the phalanx with respect to the limb;
• Traffic pathological, different from the norm.

The intensity of the data symptom largely depends on where exactly the toe fracture occurred. For example, damage to the main phalanx is almost always painful, and others - you can generally not notice immediately.

Method of treatment

The way to treat such a deviation in each case is selected individually by a traumatologist personally. If the fracture is open or offset, then in addition to returning the bone tissue to the site, and also fixing it (gypsum should be worn for at least 6-8 weeks if the toe is fractured), the patient is often prescribed antibiotic therapy, which helps prevent infection in the wound. It is also worth noting that the treatment technique depends on where the damage is localized.

1. Nail phalanx. With this deviation, an anesthetic injection is made, the fingernail and accumulated blood are removed under the skin, and then the broken fragments are fixed.
2. If the main or middle phalanx is damaged, then a plaster plantar longot is placed on the foot (wear no less than 5-8 weeks).
3. In case of a fracture of the large phalanx, a gypsum dressing is applied from the upper third part of the shin to the toe. As a rule, healing takes place within 1-1,5 months.