When I was practicing Karate I must have broken toes four or five times during my eight years of Shotokan.
It’s a common injury. You’re kicking barefoot and sometimes you hit something hard.
When it first happened to me, after the kick, I just felt pressure on my foot. I looked down and my second toe was on top of my big toe at a 90 degree angle. I instinctively grabbed it and snapped it back into place. Later I found out that was the best thing I could have done instead of waiting for the real pain to start. At that point, adrenalin was coursing through my body, and I was pretty much numb to the world.
UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon “Bones” Jones, in his recent fight with Chael Sonnen, broke his big toe.
It was a nasty break that I’m sure necessitated a doctor’s attention. I’m not going to post a picture of it here because it’s a hard one to look at. But here’s a LINK if you want to see it. This is an extreme case. If this happens to you, go see a doctor right away!
But sometimes, breaking a toe can be a minor injury that can happen during the normal course of training. Here’s what you can do:
– First, take some IBUPROFEN, ICE THE TOE and ELEVATE IT.
– Then you can perform a procedure called BUDDY TAPPING. You basically tape your injured toe to its adjacent buddy.
– All you need is A SMALL PIECE OF COTTON, and MEDICAL TAPE.
– Place the cotton between your injured toe and the toe next to it.
– Cut a FOUR TO FIVE INCH PIECE OF TAPE.
– Then carefully wrap the tape around the injured toe and its neighbor. Don’t do it too hard. If the toe starts to throb that’s no good. You want it firm enough so that it provides support.
– Change the bandage every time you shower.
– Wear hard sole shoes.
– Two to three weeks is a good time to keep it.
– And try to avoid strenuous exercise during that time.
Stay safe, have fun and train hard.
