Managing injuries of the toes.

My apologies. It has taken me longer to recovery from hurricane Ike than what I thought. So let's get back into the swing of things.
It has been about 6 weeks since Ike hit the Houston area and as a result, I have seen a rash of toe injuries walk or limp into my office. A few cuts and scrapes, a few contusions (deep bruises), and a lot of broken toes. They have come mainly from dropping heavy objects on them like tree branches, heavy furniture, cans from grocery bags, and stubbing them against an immovable object.
The majority of digital fractures heal spontaneously without requiring some sort of treatment. The largest portion of digital fractures for those seeking medical attention require buddy splinting (tapping the injured toe with an adjacent to to provide stability) and a stiff soled shoe to keep the toes from bending while walking. Ten percent of these fractures require some sort of reduction of the deformity associated with the injury which can include closed reduction (not requiring surgery) or open reduction with either temporary or permanent fixation (surgery).
When you sustain a toe injury, it can take some time to heal. For those spontaneous healing injuries, it may take one to two weeks to completely heal. But for the more serious injuries, it could take up to 10 to 12 weeks, and in some cases longer, to completely resolve.

"The journey of life is taken one step at a time... none of them should be painful." G.M. Barclay, DPM, AACFAS