what can i do with a broken toe?

jessiferrrb

obvious things are obviously out (running, elliptical, plank, ballet in toe shoes . . .) but other than upper body lifting, what is safe to do?

i'm going to give it some time for the swelling to go down and i'm mostly concerned with the hit to my tdee since my walking is curbed: taking the dog out for shorter walks, getting off at a train stop closer to my job than normal, and things like that are taking the biggest hit.

are there fidgety things i can do at my desk? at home?

i may try hooping next week if i keep my feet in place and there's not too much shifting of weight into my toes, i don't know since i've never had to pay attention to it before.

at the gym, can i squat if i push through my heels?

just looking for suggestions that i may not have thought of on my own, sarcastic and ridiculous answers will also be taken under consideration.

TeaBea

Seated or chair exercise......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xC9khisFPA

Sallybally55

I broke my toe 2 years ago (which took 8 months to heal) and was in a boot for over 4 months. I didn't work out at all but lost 45lbs during that time due to diet alone. Sorry I can't be more helpful with exercises but wanted to let you know that there is hope!

Chieflrg

jessiferrrb wrote: »

obvious things are obviously out (running, elliptical, plank, ballet in toe shoes . . .) but other than upper body lifting, what is safe to do?

i'm going to give it some time for the swelling to go down and i'm mostly concerned with the hit to my tdee since my walking is curbed: taking the dog out for shorter walks, getting off at a train stop closer to my job than normal, and things like that are taking the biggest hit.

are there fidgety things i can do at my desk? at home?

i may try hooping next week if i keep my feet in place and there's not too much shifting of weight into my toes, i don't know since i've never had to pay attention to it before.

at the gym, can i squat if i push through my heels?

just looking for suggestions that i may not have thought of on my own, sarcastic and ridiculous answers will also be taken under consideration.

More than people think depending on which toe is broken.

I play catcher in baseball and played/stole bases with a broken toe on more than one occasion.

If you are on your toes in squatting then the cue of "push through heels" might be useful, but one should push through entire foot, not heels. If the weight is noticeably on your toes, your form is off for one reason or another.

stanmann571

Chieflrg wrote: »

jessiferrrb wrote: »

obvious things are obviously out (running, elliptical, plank, ballet in toe shoes . . .) but other than upper body lifting, what is safe to do?

i'm going to give it some time for the swelling to go down and i'm mostly concerned with the hit to my tdee since my walking is curbed: taking the dog out for shorter walks, getting off at a train stop closer to my job than normal, and things like that are taking the biggest hit.

are there fidgety things i can do at my desk? at home?

i may try hooping next week if i keep my feet in place and there's not too much shifting of weight into my toes, i don't know since i've never had to pay attention to it before.

at the gym, can i squat if i push through my heels?

just looking for suggestions that i may not have thought of on my own, sarcastic and ridiculous answers will also be taken under consideration.

More than people think depending on which toe is broken.

I play catcher in baseball and played/stole bases with a broken toe on more than one occasion.

If you are on your toes in squatting then the cue of "push through heels" might be useful, but one should push through entire foot, not heels. If the weight is noticeably on your toes, your form is off for one reason or another.

I had assumed reading it initially, that it was the big/great toe, but on re-reading it's not stated.

IF it's an interior toe(2,3,4) Pending doctors consult you can do just about whatever you want as long as you tape up. IF it's 1/5. then Yeah, there's a lot less you can do.

MostlyWater

I broke a toe three times. It hurts a lot. Rest!

lporter229

Can you ride a bike? I know it's not the same thing, but when I was in a boot for a stress fracture in my metatarsal, I was able to ride a bike (per my doctor) on a flat bike path and on the trainer in my basement.

tulips_and_tea

I broke my right foot pinkie toe a few months ago. I put a cotton ball in between that toe and my next one and kept it taped all day (removed the tape when I slept) and was able to continue lifting at home just fine because I lift there barefoot.

Walking and most other cardio was out until it healed. It would help to know which toe the OP broke.

cbailey989

maybe rowing? low impact great cardio

Unknown

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steph2strong

I've broken a few toes in my time. I just taped it and carried on with my usual activities, running included after the first week and half. Cycling didn't bother it at all.

DopeItUp

Tape it up, rub some dirt on it and then become Captain Upper Body until it heals.

rheddmobile

Again, which toe? You can do most things with a broken secondary toe. Rule of thumb, if it hurts, stop. Otherwise, tape it and carry on.

jessiferrrb

it's the 4th toe, currently taped to the 3rd toe. the top portion right now wiggles side to side instead of just curling up and down like a toe should. right now, everything hurts, so i'm taking it easy but i'm down to be captain upper body for sure.

BZAH10 wrote: »

I broke my right foot pinkie toe a few months ago. I put a cotton ball in between that toe and my next one and kept it taped all day (removed the tape when I slept) and was able to continue lifting at home just fine because I lift there barefoot.

Walking and most other cardio was out until it healed. It would help to know which toe the OP broke.

i wonder if my gym (in an apt. building) would let me lift barefoot.

Ironandwine69

I've broken the same big toe twice. My advice is to let it heal properly.

TR0berts

jessiferrrb wrote: »

it's the 4th toe, currently taped to the 3rd toe. the top portion right now wiggles side to side instead of just curling up and down like a toe should. right now, everything hurts, so i'm taking it easy but i'm down to be captain upper body for sure.

BZAH10 wrote: »

I broke my right foot pinkie toe a few months ago. I put a cotton ball in between that toe and my next one and kept it taped all day (removed the tape when I slept) and was able to continue lifting at home just fine because I lift there barefoot.

Walking and most other cardio was out until it healed. It would help to know which toe the OP broke.

i wonder if my gym (in an apt. building) would let me lift barefoot.

You can probably get away with leg press, if it's too much to squat. Or other machines for lower body. Not ideal, but it might be a workaround to help you at least feel better about doing something for lower body.

fjmartini

I would assume you could do anything if you wrap it right.

Christine_72

I broke my little toe and continued on with my walking.

kaizaku

You can do a lot. Cycling, leg press, leg extension, Hamstring, squat(use the smith machine if you want) etc. Your toe is broken. Not your foot nor your legs. Just consider the weight and be conscious of not putting any weight towards your toes. Be smart and work around it.

Also depending how severe it is, let it recover. Resting is part of training too.

collectingblues

I broke a toe a week before a half marathon this May. It was a displaced fracture, so my ortho was pretty strict with me (I went, after going to urgent care to rule *out* a break, only to have them be all "OH, no, you can't put weight on this!", so I went to the ortho/sports medicine to figure out how to safely do the race) and what I was allowed to do.

Basically, the only things that were "in" were swimming, small amounts of walking (basically, only walking necessary to get to work), strength training, core work, and kettlebell.

Because of how mine was broken, I was expressedly forbidden from barre, spinning, hiking, etc. -- basically, anything that required gripping or pedaling.

Those four weeks were awful.

usmcmp

It kind of depends on how bad it is broken and how you handle injuries. What did your doctor say?

I have a broken finger right now and I'm still lifting since I have a powerlifting meet in a week. I broke my ankle and my pelvis in 2005 (both very bad breaks), but I continued to run and be active. Others might not be able to do that and others have worked through worse.

jessiferrrb

Christine_72 wrote: »

I broke my little toe and continued on with my walking.

ack! mine bends side to side now too. yikes. i hope you're all healed up now!

jessiferrrb

usmcmp wrote: »

It kind of depends on how bad it is broken and how you handle injuries. What did your doctor say?

I have a broken finger right now and I'm still lifting since I have a powerlifting meet in a week. I broke my ankle and my pelvis in 2005 (both very bad breaks), but I continued to run and be active. Others might not be able to do that and others have worked through worse.

you're amazing, i cannot imagine running on a broken ankle. the doc at the urgent care just said there's not much to be done for a broken toe except wrapping it and staying off of it. it's starting to hurt a bit less now, so i'm going to get back in the gym and test the waters on monday. earlier this week the pain was really bad and i felt extremely limited, but now that it's backing off and you guys have been super helpful with your anecdotes i feel more confident about activity. thanks

ck2d

Swim

fjmartini

jessiferrrb wrote: »

usmcmp wrote: »

It kind of depends on how bad it is broken and how you handle injuries. What did your doctor say?

I have a broken finger right now and I'm still lifting since I have a powerlifting meet in a week. I broke my ankle and my pelvis in 2005 (both very bad breaks), but I continued to run and be active. Others might not be able to do that and others have worked through worse.

you're amazing, i cannot imagine running on a broken ankle. the doc at the urgent care just said there's not much to be done for a broken toe except wrapping it and staying off of it. it's starting to hurt a bit less now, so i'm going to get back in the gym and test the waters on monday. earlier this week the pain was really bad and i felt extremely limited, but now that it's backing off and you guys have been super helpful with your anecdotes i feel more confident about activity. thanks

I did the same thing with my ankle and foot: chip and fracture continued to workout. The real issue came a year later when I tore my peroneus brevis tendon in the same ankle. Now in order for me to feel ok on the ankle it has to be inflamed otherwise it feels like someone is slowly cutting my ankle with a hot knife. I also contribute tearing both my calf muscles along with a partial tear of the same tendon in the other ankle. If you feel discomfort, take it easy. The injury might not worsen but you could easily create a more serious one down the line.

Christine_72

jessiferrrb wrote: »

Christine_72 wrote: »

I broke my little toe and continued on with my walking.

ack! mine bends side to side now too. yikes. i hope you're all healed up now!

My toe stayed like for a couple of years. I recently had surgery where they inserted a steel rod to straighten it back up again, so now it's nice and straight again. After the surgery, the doctor said walk as much as is comfortable.

WilmaValley

These are all great suggestions. Thanks!