How long until foot swelling (from dropping something on it and neglecting for a week ) and pain improves?

Question

I dropped a large metal chair on the top of my foot two weeks ago. It didn't swell or hurt initially, so I ignored it and hiked for a week. After a week my foot became swollen (not discolored) and very painful. X-Rays showed no fractures. Per Dr.'s orders, I've been taking ibuprofen, icing, and elevating for four days but it's not geting any better (in fact, worse every day), though she said it would be fine in a week. Weirdly, it always hurts more when I elevate or ice it. Is this normal? How long will it take to get better (or at least stop getting worse?!?) Should I go and get another x-ray done if it's not better in a few days?

Answer 1

Could you have re-injured or sprained your foot hiking? If you're still swolen and in pain in a few days, yes, you should go back to the doctor. You will need to rest your foot until it heals from the sprain or whatever injury you sustained. Your dr. can let you know how long to stay off it.

Answer 2

Feet are notoriously slow healers, and they are also unfortunately quite prone to chronic pain from injuries. It's hard to give your feet the rest they need to heal from a trauma, because unless you can just lie around in bed all day, you're going to be up on your feet aggravating the problem. Additionally, there are lots and lots of little bones, tendons, muscles, and other tissues that can be injured, and it can be really hard to diagnose exactly what's causing the problem.

That said, your doctor gave it about a week to improve -- it's only been four days. My advice to you would be to keep doing what you're doing and giving it as much time to truly heal and rest as possible and if in 7-10 days, it is still no better, make an appointment to see your doctor for follow-up. If it's truly getting "worse every day," however -- that is, it's really getting markedly worse, with new symptoms like severely increased pain, more swelling, redness or hotness, or anything like that -- I would go in sooner than that, or at least give your doc a call to tell her what you're experiencing and ask for some advice on what to try next.

Good luck and hang in there!

Answer 3

I would request a cat-scan of your foot if it's not improving. The foot is complicated,there are a lot of little bones.
My daughter stepped off a sidewalk wrong, the initial x-ray showed nothing. She continued to complain, so I took her back to the Dr. They ordered a cat-scan, it came back with numerous fractures (four), 2 bones were chipped, 1 chip was caused by the ligament pulling away from the foot and taking a peice of bone with it. She is now in a cast for 6 weeks with no weight bearing at all! The ortho said these injuries would not have shown on the original x-ray, because of the complexity of the foot.
Hope you get better!

Answer 4

Let me guess...you have a pretty high tolerance for pain, right? Yeah, this totally reminds me of the time I walked into a pothole in Chicago. I was barely able to limp up the stairs to my apartment, but I figured it would "clear itself up." The minute my boss got a look at my ankle (two days later), she ORDERED me to go to a doctor. Turned out I'd torn every single friggin ligament. I ended up in a cast for six weeks, and physical therapy for six months. If I hadn't gone to the doctor and dealt with the situtation, I probably wouldn't be walking today. So don't rely on your ability to handle pain here--it's no indication of whether or not something is seriously wrong that could affect you for the rest of your life. Just go to a licensed podiatrist already. On the bright side, you might find yourself nursing your poor foot in a hot tub occupied by Harrison Ford! (Happened to me--OK, this was 20 years ago.)

Answer 5

That happened to me a lot try putting your feet in ice water when you get home after work, and cut down on your salt intake..Soda's have a lot of salt so if you drink those I would stop till baby comes, And just because you sit doesn't mean your feet won't swell they'll actually swell more. You need to stay active get up from time to time at work. Good luck and congrats I love babies!!

Answer 6

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