second metatarsal phalangeal joint sprain/fracture

I got my first more serious walking related injury yesterday. I walked to work and back, and everything felt fine, except the joint where my right big toe meets the ball of my foot was a bit stiff, which is pretty normal for me, since I think I broke that toe and never received medical attention for it, about 4 years ago.

I actually made it to and from work in my fastest times yet.

After I went to sleep my foot began to swell up, and I woke up in the middle of the night in a considerable amount of pain. I took 600mg of ibuprofen, but it still wasn't enough to let me get back to sleep, so I elevated the foot more and watched TV until sunrise.

Because I'm a small business owner in a shitty economy, I obviously have fantastic insurance and plenty of extra money lying around to blow on medical expenses. Except the exact opposite of that.

So I self diagnosed myself by googling "pain and swelling where big toe meets ball of foot", and found a very informative website that lists sports injuries, how they're caused, and what you should do for them. The basic description of the symptoms were described under second metatarsal phalangeal joint sprain, but the description warned that if I experienced swelling across the top of the foot, and pain on the bottom, (which I do) it may be a stress fracture of the same joint.

Fortunately, treatment is the same for both injuries. Just keep it elevated, ice it or use hot compresses, bind it so it doesn't bend, and take aspirin. Without x-rays, I should find out if it's just bruised (when it stops hurting in a couple of days), sprained (when it stops hurting in a week or two), or fractured (where it will stop hurting in 4-6 weeks).

My fingers are crossed that it's just weird bruising.

As it is, it's very difficult to walk, drive a car, or even put on a shoe without a good deal of difficulty and pain.

I'm eager to get out and walk, especially with all the good weather we have coming up in the forecast.

april 14th

7.2 miles
256.96 miles cumulative
10.2784 total gallons saved