Crofton Office

1657 Crofton Blvd, Suite 201

Crofton, MD 21114

(410) 721-4505

(410) 721-2394

Woodbridge Office

14010 Smoketown Rd., Suite 103

Woodbridge, VA 22192

(703) 583-5959

(703) 890-4970

Chantilly Office

3914 Centreville Road, Suite 200

Chantilly, VA 20151

(703) 490-5599

(703) 583-5995

Sterling Office

46440 Benedict Dr., Suite 111

Sterling, VA 20164

(703) 444-9555

How Blunt Trauma Injuries Affect the Feet

Most folks have endured some type of traumatic injury to the feet, whether by stubbing a toe, dropping a heavy object, or colliding with someone or something while playing sports. The pain can feel excruciating, especially to the top of the feet, where there isn’t much padding around the bones. Go on, feel the top of the feet – you’ll probably feel the long metatarsal bones across the top of your feet.

  • Pain: The immediate sensation you’ll likely feel is pain at the impact spot. The length and severity of the pain will depend on the force of the impact and the surface area injury. Walking or moving the feet can be very painful.
  • Bruise/Contusion: After a bit of time, you might notice some redness and subsequent bruising. Since the visual indication of bruising is a result of bleeding beneath the skin, you may or may not see the typical black and blue of bruising. It will depend on whether or not there is internal bleeding, and where it happens.
  • Bone bruise or hairline fractures: After an injury to bones, blood and fluids can enter and surround the area of the bone. This can happen when the bone is injured, but not enough to become a fracture. On the other hand, severe injury can lead to bone fractures (cracks) in the feet.
  • Inflammation and/or swelling: Depending on the location and severity of the injury, the soft tissues and bone areas can become inflamed or swollen. You may notice a bump from fluids gathering, or pain because of inflammation near nerves. When inflammation affects nerves, it can cause pain in larger areas of the foot (even causing pain to the bottom areas of the foot, due to an injury at the top).
  • Joint swelling: If the injury is at or near a joint, it can cause stiffness, swelling, or tenderness to the joint. It can even be the cause of post-traumatic arthritis.

Pain management after traumatic injury:

  1. RICE method: Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. Additionally, if the pain and inflammation are severe, you can take NSAIDs to reduce symptoms.
  2. If the injury does not get better or gets worse in a couple of days, it’s important to come see us and make sure that bones are not fractured and soft tissues are not torn. Our podiatrist can help you find the best treatment, which may include using a brace or other orthotic device.

We can help you feel better! Make an appointment at our Crofton, MD office to see our board-certified podiatrist, Dr. Brad Toll. At Crofton Podiatry, we will use the latest treatment options to assess and take care of your foot and ankle care needs. Our podiatry team is ready to help improve your foot health at our Crofton office, which also serves the surrounding areas of Gambrills, Odenton, and Bowie, MD.

 

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Office Hours

(We have new hours as below!)

Crofton Podiatry

Monday:

9:00 am-5:00 pm

Tuesday:

9:00 am-5:00 pm

Wednesday:

9:00 am-5:00 pm

Thursday:

7:30 am-3:30 pm

Friday:

By Appointment Only

Saturday:

Closed

Sunday:

Closed