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What Causes Swelling And Pain On The Upper Foot Post Injury?
Hi I dropped something on my foot 4 days ago now and have some pretty good pain and discomfort. I also have had some swelling but no bruising. Keep getting shooting pains and can t touch the top of my foot between my big toe to my third toe and down about an inch. Should I be concerned? What might be going on?
Wed, 23 Sep 2015
Hello,
Thank you for writing at HCM.
When we have a trauma it is normal to have some swelling. There is some tissue injury and body tries to heal quick by sending more blood in the area and swelling happens. Pain is also a normal symptom. Structures like muscles can be hurt and they take their time to heal also. Rarely if the trauma is big enough (heavy object falling on the foot) it can hurt the bones by crushing against them (in this case the metatarsal and/or phalangeal bones) and rarely cause fracture of them. Even if it is fracture generally treatment is similar to the case that there is no fracture. In both cases it is recommended to elevate the foot whenever this is possible, this will help with pain and the swelling. Use over the counter pain killers to help with pain, paracetamol and ibuprofen (after food to protect the stomach) and if pain lasts for another 2-3 days without any improvement than you will need to see a doctor and he/she might order and x-ray of the foot and if a fracture is visualised the doctor might recommend a splint to help with pain and the fracture heal easier. Bone pain takes longer to heal than muscle pain. Generally surgery is not recommended in case of those fractures. Another rare diagnosis might be morton neuroma which is too early to consider in your case and I would consider it if pain is not improving and no fracture is visualized in the x-ray.
Hope this is helpful and answers to your question
Thank you for writing at HCM.
When we have a trauma it is normal to have some swelling. There is some tissue injury and body tries to heal quick by sending more blood in the area and swelling happens. Pain is also a normal symptom. Structures like muscles can be hurt and they take their time to heal also. Rarely if the trauma is big enough (heavy object falling on the foot) it can hurt the bones by crushing against them (in this case the metatarsal and/or phalangeal bones) and rarely cause fracture of them. Even if it is fracture generally treatment is similar to the case that there is no fracture. In both cases it is recommended to elevate the foot whenever this is possible, this will help with pain and the swelling. Use over the counter pain killers to help with pain, paracetamol and ibuprofen (after food to protect the stomach) and if pain lasts for another 2-3 days without any improvement than you will need to see a doctor and he/she might order and x-ray of the foot and if a fracture is visualised the doctor might recommend a splint to help with pain and the fracture heal easier. Bone pain takes longer to heal than muscle pain. Generally surgery is not recommended in case of those fractures. Another rare diagnosis might be morton neuroma which is too early to consider in your case and I would consider it if pain is not improving and no fracture is visualized in the x-ray.
Hope this is helpful and answers to your question
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