Question: Hi, was in a car accident 2.5 months ago and injured my right foot. I was the driver in a rear end collision (low speed) but my foot got jammed on the brake pedal and was forced back on impact. I was taken to the ED where xray shows I did not sustain a fracture, but I did have a grade 3 ankle sprain and obvious midfoot injury. There was significant swelling and bruising on my foot and ankle. I was unable to walk for about a week and was on crutches, then progressed to a boot and then finally an ankle brace. The swelling and bruising resolved within about a month, however, I still have significant pain in my midfoot. I was initially told there may or may not be nerve damage due to my big toe being numb right after the injury, and now I'm experiencing shooting pain occasionally in that midfoot area that radiates to my toes. Additionally, I have obvious, hard prominence on the top of my foot that wasn't there prior to the injury. I was curious what this could be from, as my xray didn't show anything and it's hard so it's not like the edema I experienced that eventually resolved. The area is painful when pressure is applied and I've been having to take NSAIDs quite frequently, especially when I've been on my feet for a while which worries me because I don't want to risk a GI bleed. I'm not sure what I can do to help heal this injury because it's not something I can splint and it doesn't seem to be getting any better. Thank you.

Note: I uploaded pictures of both feet for comparison

Hi, was in a car accident 2.5 months ago and injured my right foot. I was the driver in a rear end collision (low speed) but my foot got jammed on the brake pedal and was forced back on impact. I was taken to the ED where xray shows I did not sustain a fracture, but I did have a grade 3 ankle sprain and obvious midfoot injury. There was significant swelling and bruising on my foot and ankle. I was unable to walk for about a week and was on crutches, then progressed to a boot and then finally an ankle brace. The swelling and bruising resolved within about a month, however, I still have significant pain in my midfoot. I was initially told there may or may not be nerve damage due to my big toe being numb right after the injury, and now I'm experiencing shooting pain occasionally in that midfoot area that radiates to my toes. Additionally, I have obvious, hard prominence on the top of my foot that wasn't there prior to the injury. I was curious what this could be from, as my xray didn't show anything and it's hard so it's not like the edema I experienced that eventually resolved. The area is painful when pressure is applied and I've been having to take NSAIDs quite frequently, especially when I've been on my feet for a while which worries me because I don't want to risk a GI bleed. I'm not sure what I can do to help heal this injury because it's not something I can splint and it doesn't seem to be getting any better. Thank you.

Note: I uploaded pictures of both feet for comparison

Dr. Tayal,
Thank you for your reply. Is it normal for a hematoma to last this long? Is this possibly a bone contusion? Initially, the entire dorsum of my foot looked like a huge hematoma, but that resolved within 2-3 weeks. Thank you again, I’ll look into getting a CT or MRI.

Dr. Tayal,
Thank you for your reply. Is it normal for a hematoma to last this long? Is this possibly a bone contusion? Initially, the entire dorsum of my foot looked like a huge hematoma, but that resolved within 2-3 weeks. Thank you again, I’ll look into getting a CT or MRI.