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The response to the question below was authored by Marc Mitnick DPM

Swollen distal joint of 3rd toe

Hi Dr Mitnick,

I injured my toe playing football (soccer) 3 weeks ago and the distal joint on my middle toe became so swollen I thought it must to fractured. However the x-ray was clear. I can now walk and even run without problem but the swelling is not reducing and it is still extremely painful to touch. Is this normal after 3 weeks with no breakage?

Many thanks,

Tom

UK

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Sep 29, 2022
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Answer to your question
by: Dr. Mitnick

Hi Tom,

Just because you did not actually fracture your toe does not mean you did not damage the toe. Since the x-ray was negative for fracture, you can assume you did soft tissue damage.
In either event the trauma will cause the toe to swell. That is called inflammation.
The interesting thing about swelling as a result of trauma in the foot is that the swelling tends to last longer then it might to similar injuries in other parts of the body. That is primarily due to the effects of gravity on the feet.
Having said that, if the pain and swelling persists for a longer period of time then anticipated, a second x-ray may be required as sometimes small fractures do not initially show up on x-ray.
I hope this helps.

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Swollen distal joint of 3rd toe

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