Outside of the Foot Pain [Lateral Foot Pain]
Sprained Little Toe [How to Tell If Broken & Best Treatment]
Do you have a sprained little toe or broken toe? Find out 100% about these causes, symptoms, and the best home treatment guide! Video & Photos!
Look:
- Outside of the foot, pain can be improved with a few simple treatment changes.
- We are foot doctors & we see this problem get better almost every day.
- The goal is to solve this problem without medication or surgery if at all possible.
So, let’s GO!
Table of Contents
Sprained little toe treatment video:
Can you sprain your little toe?Β
Yes, you can! These are some common causes of little toe pain.
Outside of the Foot Pain Picture Gallery:
Look:
- Fifth toe pain usually has nothing wrong with the bone unless it has recently been broken. The pain usually results from pressure against the front of the shoe, causing a callus or ingrown toenail.
- The fifth toe joint can cause a Tailor’s bunion to occur. This can also result in nerve pain and arthritis of the fifth toe joint.
- The bone connecting to the fifth toe is called the fifth metatarsal. It is possible to develop a stress fracture or “Jones” fracture.Β
- It is also possible to have pain and tendons and nerves outside the ankle from pressure against the outside of the shoe.
- The peroneal tendons can also be causing pain. This means the peroneus brevis tendon and the peroneus longus tendon.
- Cuboid syndrome can also cause pain at the back and outside of the foot.
Click on the photo gallery to see descriptions!
Sprained Little Toe Overview:
- Sprained Little Toe:Β This can cause pain in the entire pinky toe joint.
- The symptoms include numbness, burning, and tingling.
- This can then lead to swelling and throbbing pain.
- This is a problem that can be very simple to take care of.
- A sprained pinky toe usually happens as the big toe is bent backward.
Sprained Little Toe Symptoms:
A sprained pinky toe will really hurt for the first couple of days. This is the inflammatory response taking place. The goal is to cut it down & then healing can begin.
- Pain in the entire pinky toe.
- Possible numbness, burning & tingling due to nerve irritation.
- Swelling & edema in the entire little toe.
- Swelling & edema in the pinky toe joint.
- Bruising at the bottom of the outside of the foot or pinky toe a day or two later.
Causes Of A Sprained Little Toe:
- A sprained pinky toe usually happens as the big toe is bent backward.
- This is common when walking barefoot.
- The pinky toe is not very strong & is easily overcome by stubbing or forcefully striking an object.
- It is most common while walking barefoot.
- This toe is the most susceptible to injury of all the toes.
Sprained Little Toe Recovery Time:
There are three grades of sprained pinky toe injuries. The recovery time can vary based on what grade of sprain you have. Donβt worry. Most sprains are grade 1 injuries.
1) Grade 1 Sprain:
- The joint capsule & soft tissue are stretched.
- This is the vast majority of pinky toe sprains, no matter how painful they are initially.
- This results in a more mild amount of swelling & bruising.
- Perform initial treatment as detailed below.
Sprained Pinky ToeΒ Recovery Time: 1-2 weeks.
2) Grade 2 Sprain:
- This is a partial tear of the plantar anatomy.
- This results in severe bruising & swelling.
- It is usually indistinguishable from a grade 1 sprain early on.
- This likely does not need any surgery or intervention.
- It is a good idea to head in for precautionary imaging at your podiatristβs office.
- Perform initial treatment as detailed below.
Sprained Pinky ToeΒ Recovery Time: 2-4 weeks.
3) Grade 3 Sprain:
- This is a complete tear of the soft tissue anatomy.
- This causes severe swelling & bruising.
- There is a possible deformity.
- This will require a visit to the podiatrist for imaging and intervention.
Sprained Pinky ToeΒ Recovery Time: 2-3 weeks. Will require podiatrist intervention & imaging.
Is My Little Toe Broken Or Sprained?
- This is very difficult to say for sure.
- The only way to know 100% is to head to your podiatristβs office or the ER for X-rayΒ imaging.
- There are many cases where a sprained big toe looks worse than a broken toe.
- There are other cases where very mild injuries can result in a broken toe.
- Think broken toe if:
- Crunching noise during the injury.
- Severe swelling & bruising.
- Complete inability to move the toe.
- Obvious deformity.
Consider Metatarsalgia Treatment:
- If your pinky toe is hurting, there is a good chance you have too much pressure on the ball of your foot.
- Consider this metatarsalgia treatment guide.
- The complete metatarsalgia treatment guide.
Outside of the Foot Home Treatment:
- If you have 5th toe pain, tailor’s bunion pain, outside of the foot pain, or other lateral foot pain, this guide is for you!Β
- These are the recommended treatment products that will help you get better the fastest.
- The key is to stop your foot from turning outward and causing further damage to your foot.
The real key to fix outside of the foot pain in order:
1) Most important is a good shoe & a good insole for your shoe.
- Good shoes and good foot insoles are the best value and best long-term option.
- This will stop your foot from turning outward.
- Give these 1-2 weeks of effort, and you will really notice the pain relief.
- This does not instantly fix the pain but prevents future damage.
2) Gel pad to offload the toe.
- This will give your toes some cushion to keep pressure off the toes.
- Read below to see the specific gel pads for each specific condition.
3) Ankle brace for a possible correction.
- Check the recommended braces below.
- For ankle pain, this is almost guaranteed to improve your problem.
4) Menthol-based cream for pain relief.
- Creams and gels like Biofreeze act like ice but save you 20 minutes!
- Check below for our recommended pain relief options.
Best Treatment Products:Β
5th Toe Gel Pads:
- Fifth toe gel pads can stop your fifth toe or your Taylor’s bunion from rubbing against the side of your shoe.
- There are downsides because these don’t last forever, and they do start to break apart and develop older.
- They can be a low-cost option for tighter shoes during business meetings and at work.
Topical Pain Relief Creams:
- Menthol-based creams have been studied medically and show safety and excellent results.
- This is best for nerve irritation.
- This can help with the nerve pain on the outside of the foot. Just don’t use this as your only treatment option.
- This is not fluff, and these are scientifically backed!
- Bio-freeze is cost-effective and shows great results.
- This is more for people who have difficulty sleeping or walking due to significant issues.
Massage & Ice Products:
- Ice is an excellent option that can be safe for almost everyone.
- There are many nerves, ligaments, and tendons on the outside of your foot.
- This can help calm the inflammation until you fix the biomechanics making your foot turn outward.
- There is some debate about whether icing is worth doing, but this can help limit the need for medications and keep your options open for chronic pain.
- This works great for your arch, less for the ball of the foot.
- The more muscle and ligament tissue there is, the better ice will work there.
Massage Sticks:Β
- These can work great for loosening your muscles.
- More flexibility will make your foot turn out less.
- This is a very counter-intuitive way to take pressure off of the outside of your foot!
- This allows less tightness and pressure on the ball of your foot.
- This is very effective for the arch, the gastrocnemius, calf muscle, and the hamstring and thigh muscles.
- This also works very well for the gluteus muscles if you are having butt cheek or hip pain.
Best Shoes for Side of Foot Pain:
- Getting a great supportive pair of shoes will make sure that there is pressure removed from the outside of your foot
- This is especially important if you have flat feet.
- Consider shoes combined with a good supportive orthotic for the best pain relief!.
- The following link will show you what our favorites are.
Best Orthotics for Side of Foot Pain:
- Orthotics are the single most important way to improve your outside of the foot pain, Seriously!
- Most people don’t think orthotics will fix their foot pain.
- Besides trauma,Β 95% of all 5th toe, middle of the foot, and outside of the ankle pain can be improved with orthotics.
- This is because orthotics help your foot from twisting out and compressing against your shoe when you walk.
- Would you please not take our word for it? Read the reviews!
Most Important Tips For Orthotics:
- Make sure you have a roomy enough shoe.
- I’m warning you right now, don’t try to stuff a full-length orthotic into a tiny tight shoe. It won’t work.
- If you have tighter or dress shoes: try the dress shoe or 3/4″ orthotics.
Full-length orthotics give you the most correction and improvement:
- If you have roomy enough shoes like running shoes or work boots. Get a full-length orthotic.
- The cushion under the front of your foot prevents it from twisting out against the outside of your shoe as much as possible.
- These are one of the best possible options for the medium and heavy-duty correction!
These orthotics are for slimmer shoes without laces:
- If you are tight in the front of your shoes, or the shoes are tighter, these 3/4″ might be the best choice for you.
- But if you have a choice, the full-length orthotics are much, much more supportive!
- So if you wear work boots or running shoes, get the full length. They get you more support.
Dress Shoe orthotics:
- These are premium leather orthotic recommendations for dress shoes.
- If you have a tight dress shoe get the 3/4″ orthotic.
Outside of the Foot Trauma:
- If you think you might have a broken 5th metatarsal fracture, a Jones fracture, a stub, or a broken 5th toe, these products may be of assistance.
- This guide is meant only after getting your foot evaluated by a foot and ankle specialist first!
- Always remember to see a foot and ankle specialist like a podiatrist if you have severe outside of the foot pain or a broken bone!
5th Toe or 5th Metatarsal Injury Treatment:
- If you have a traumatic injury such as a broken 5th metatarsal fracture, a Jones fracture, a stubbed, or a broken 5th toe: consider protecting your foot!
- The best way to do this is, of course, to see your podiatrist and get evaluated with an x-ray, ultrasound, and potentially even an MRI or CT scan.
- If you cannot do so, it may benefit you to be in a cast, fractured boot, or even keep the weight off of it with a rolling knee scooter or other protective devices.
- We as podiatrists frequently take patients off work for a very long period of time when they suffer a traumatic injury. Unfortunately, there is no other way around us in labor jobs.
- If you have a sit-down job, there are ways to get people back to work quicker, but this can be impossible otherwise.
Outside of the Foot Boot Treatment:
- There are pros and cons to using a boot to treat your outside of the foot injury. The Pros are that your injured lateral foot will hopefully have a chance to heal gradually! If you are immobilized too long, the cons are that you will gradually become stiff and overworked to your other leg.
- Our favorite fracture boots and their supplies:
Offloading and Scooter treatment:
- Sometimes the best thing to do is to keep pressure off of the outside of your foot completely.
- There are benefits to offloading in the early stages of the disease and can give you outside foot relief!
- These are favorite knee scooters and walking devices:
Outside of the Foot Compression Brace:
- A good compression brace can stabilize your foot from turning outward.
- This prevents your foot from pronation.
- The pronated foot will turn your foot outward, in your foot will rub on the outside of the shoe.
- This has solved their pain for many of her patients and is very comfortable to wear inside your shoe.
- This solves both pain and outward pronation for a relatively low cost.
Outside of the Foot Stability Brace:
- The stability brace goes a little bit further than the compression brace to stop your foot from turning out.
- At the same time, this is a little bit bulkier and does not affect every shoe.
- We find people are a little bit happier trying the compression brace before the stability brace.
Outside of the Foot Pain [Lateral Foot Pain]