Stubbed Toes and Falling Down
2009 November 5 (13:46)
categories: Stubbed Toes
Well, even I stub my toe occassionally – all right, perhaps just as much as anyone else. It’s a not-so-subtle reminder to lift our foot, the whole foot, not just the heel, with each and EVERY step.
My prior, serious (blood and pain – as opposed to a gentle scuffing along the surface) stubbed toe was in the San Francisco Marathon (2008 July). But, at least that time, I didn’t fall down, in front of a crowd of runners!
Last night, I was running with A Running Experience Club (AREC) in Long Beach, California. It was dark, and I was chatting with Barefoot Todd, probably about something silly, like paying attention, and lifting the feet as we run!
Well, obviously, I wasn’t paying attention, or lifting my feet (enough) as I ran. Because, next thing I know, my toe is kicking a slightly raised sidewalk slab. Well, at least I was relaxed, enough, that I let my momentum continue moving my upper body, and fell down on my hands and knees. Sure, that sounds bad, but at least I didn’t try to resist, and use my forward momentum, in vain, trying to kick the concrete slab forward!
my stubbed toe
Sadly, when I got home, and washed the blood off my toe, there wasn’t much to show off to friends. My big toe (the only one that impacted with the concrete) was relatively undamaged, no big scrapes, no black toenail.
The bleeding seemed to be coming from under my toenail, so I bandaged it up, to keep the nail from falling off – or getting kicked again, too soon.
Even, now, nearly a full day later, the toe just barely looks bruised, and not even the whole toe, only the front edge of the toe, which is barely more than slightly reddish tint (dark pink?), not even black and blue.
Ah, well, my injured toe will probably be no excuse not to run this weekend. My injured ego, on the other hand ( foot?) . . .
originally post: Stubbed Toes and Falling Down
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from Barefoot Ken Bob
Time 2009 November 12 Thu at 2:49 pm
I finished running 2.5 miles on this stubbed toe. Then I soaked in epsom salts, rested, and elevated my foot, for a day or two. I hear, since there are so many bones in the human foot, it’s actually possible, though certainly painful, to walk, or even run, with a broken bone in the foot. I wouldn’t recommend that, unless someone’s chasing you with a loaded gun … and then you might want to consider, how fast can you run, compared to the speed of the bullet!
I doubt I had any broken bones in my foot, but there was some definite sprain, or strain, back behind the toe, and bruising a day or two later – kind of like when you jam your finger with a basketball!
My first run, after this injury (and after finishing the 2.5 miles immediately after the injury), was the following Monday, when I ran a 5K lunchtime race, slowly – so for me, for this injury, it was about 4.5 days. But, the toe hurt after the race – but then felt MUCH better after a good night’s sleep. Likewise, last Tuesday, my dog and another big dog, were wrestling, and kicked my toe again, “Ow!” it hurt, and I thought it might be injured nearly as bad as the previous week, but, after a soak in espom salts, elevating the rest of the evening, getting to bed early, and a good night’s sleep, it felt great in the morning… I probably won’t be doing much more running until this Sunday, in the Malibu Marathon. Maybe a couple miles walking or running on Saturday, picking up my race number, etc., at the expo.
Most such injuries, walking, at least short distances, is no problem. The trick is to walk without putting tension on the injury. Once you figure out how to walk gently (curl your toes up, for example, actively bend your knees, etc.), transfer that technique to the both sides (symmetry), so you won’t look so much like you’re limping. This will give you a better idea of how to improve your walking and running technique in the long run – even after your toe has healed.
My previous “badly” stubbed toe, which wasn’t as serious, just broken skin, I ran 16 miles, after stubbing my toe, to complete the San Francisco Marathon (2008).
Of course, if you do “need” to walk, or run, be sure to spend even MORE time, resting and elevating the foot. Epsom salt foot soaks are also nice.
In general, I would wait a couple, or few days, get plenty of rest, liquid, and nutrition. But then, after those initial few days of rest, I want to start gently moving, and even lightly stressing the injured area, so it doesn’t stiffen up. Once things begin to heal, a bit of stimulation, followed by lots of rest, may actually help heal sooner. This is a good time to be catching up on your reading, or television watching.
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Comment from fun4stuff
Time 2009 November 12 Thu at 11:54 am
I’ve stubbed my toe a few times as well. Most of the time it resulted in an injury similar to yours. However, 4 days ago I stubbed in on uneven sidewalk harder than ever before. When I got home and cleaned the blood off there was a cut at the top of my toe about 1/4 inch long and 1/8 inch deep, but could not see subcutaneous tissue. I decided to just tape it close rather than get stitches. My question: how long should I wait to run on it? I am worried if it is too soon I risk causing it to open back up.