Broken big toe - how long to fix it?

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Muttley Dec 2019 12:20pm, 24 Dec 2019 521 posts	0 Muttley Anyone else done this? If so, how did recovery go and how long before you were running again? I broke mine by dropping furniture onto the foot (not recommended). It now feels okay and the plan is to try a gentle walk-jog and see what occurs. The nurse at the clinic said 3 to 6 weeks for it to heal. This was 4 and a half weeks ago. Obviously everyone and every broken toe is different but anyone got any tips or warnings to share? If it helps I'm male and approaching 60 so won't repair as fast as a teenager, but I'm in reasonable shape otherwise.
Son of a Pronator Man Dec 2019 12:48pm, 24 Dec 2019 8,734 posts	0 Son of a Pronator Man I'd speculate 6 weeks is a reasonable healing time for a broken bone.. obv big bones like femurs etc would take longer. That's about how long my elbow took to heal
um Dec 2019 1:02pm, 24 Dec 2019 1,553 posts	0 um Mine took about 6 - 8 weeks, 45ish years ago. How is it to walk on? Did you just tape it, or has treatment improved since I did mine? I suspect (noting I do not have any medical training, apart from life) if you can walk barefoot, walk 1 - 2 miles in shoes without issue, you can start gentle running and slowly build up ? Oh - and I do get gout in that toe now (well, I did before the allopurinol). Related? Or just co-incidence?
oumaumau Dec 2019 1:05pm, 24 Dec 2019 1,492 posts	0 oumaumau How bad a break was it? I've broken the same one twice, but only minor fractures and last time they didn't cast it at all. Took about 4 weeks to be all better. Standard return to running, short and careful to start with.
Muttley Dec 2019 7:56pm, 24 Dec 2019 522 posts	0 Muttley Sound promising. It's a "crush fracture", according to the nurse at the minor injuries clinic. No treatment, she said, no point strapping or taping, just leave it to do its own thing. I'll go out for a decent brisk walk tomorrow and see how it pans out, then maybe on Thursday introduce a bit of gentle jogging. I asked in case the big toe has a particularly crucial ambulatory function that would be wrecked if I lurched back into action too soon. Ta muchly for the advice!
oumaumau Dec 2019 8:01pm, 24 Dec 2019 1,493 posts	0 oumaumau Seems a sensible approach The big toe is the only one that does any work, as I understand it. Just be gentle with it. I assume you have been walking on it since it happened?
Muttley Dec 2019 8:05pm, 24 Dec 2019 523 posts	0 Muttley Aye, I can walk okay now. I'll do tomorrow's walk in my running shoes.