Bum Toe from Bizarre Cycling Mishap!

[wackyjacky1]

I always lock my bike to a signpost in front of where I work. Often when I come out and am getting ready to ride home, I will notice that someone has fiddled with my bike, usually by moving the front derailleur. Annoying, but no biggie -- it's easily spotted and corrected before I hop on and ride home.

I have to go up a short-but-steep hill right off the bat on the way home, and I usually just stand on the pedals and hammer away. On Saturday someone must have messed with the rear derailleur, so when I stood up to pedal, the chain clunked and my right foot got jerked out of the half-clip. The pedal then swung around and whacked me just under the kneecap, drawing blood. My big toe had been wrenched sideways because my foot had hung up a bit in the clip before it got free of the pedal. It smarted, but other than being a little p-o'd at whoever had touched my bike, I just shrugged it off, remounted and headed home.

The pain in my toe got worse as I went along. I could only put light pressure on my right foot to pedal. The ride home became a great left leg workout! I iced down my toe when I got home. The next morning, the front part of my foot was all swollen, with the beginnings of some pretty good bruising. So I guess I sprained my big toe! How bizarre, right? I could hardly walk on it yesterday, but today it's much improved though still sore.



No point to this story, it just seems like a weird injury to get from riding a bike.

[arielmoon]

Owie!

Hope your toe feels better soon!

[Tuckervill]

I'd bet it's broken. Xray would confirm, but there's really no treatment. They may give you a walking boot. But, I'd also want to know if it were the joint or one of the bones in my foot, too.

Karen

[spokewench]

Ouch!

[Zen]

That does not look good.

[emily_in_nc]

You poor thing! That looks awful...I'd probably get it checked out. If you haven't been, I'd be icing that puppy several times a day. Hurts at first but is so nice once it gets good and numb!

Good luck!

[cmac77354]

Ouch, that looks like it hurts. Can you take your bike inside your work place. That would really tick me off if someone messed with my bike. Idiots.

[Jones]

I'd bet it's broken. Xray would confirm, but there's really no treatment. They may give you a walking boot. But, I'd also want to know if it were the joint or one of the bones in my foot, too.

Karen

+1.

[Selkie]

I have broken several toes, including a big toe.

If she broke that sucker, she wouldn't have been able to walk on it at all. The little toes, you can still get around. At least in my case!! I couldn't even bear to put a sheet over top of my foot when I broke my big toe, it hurt that much.

Wacky, hope you're feeling better. That bruising is just spectacular!

[Kelly728]

I have broken several toes, including a big toe.

If she broke that sucker, she wouldn't have been able to walk on it at all.

You can walk on a broken big toe depending on the severity and location of the fracture.

+1 on getting it checked out, otherwise that is some dang impressive bruising!

[wackyjacky1]

Well, my co-workers talked me into going to the Minor Emergency Clinic to have it checked out. (The bruising is now entering the rainbow phase -- even more impressive than before!) The doctor tugged it and wiggled it, and declared that it may be either a minor fracture or a pretty good sprain. Either way, he said, the treatment would be the same: ice or heat as needed, ibuprofen as needed, and rest it as much as possible. He said he would x-ray it if I wanted to, but he didn't think that was necessary because more than likely it wouldn't change his recommendation concerning treatment. So basically I just wasted a $40 co-pay and 45 minutes of my time.

Can you take your bike inside your work place. That would really tick me off if someone messed with my bike. Idiots.

I'm going to look around to see if there's somewhere else I can lock up my bike. It happens more often than not, that people have fiddled with something on it. Quite often I ride an old vintage moped to work and lock it up in the same place. Almost every time I get ready to ride home on it, I can tell that someone has messed with one or all of the switches. I guess they're just curious about it and don't realize the potential of screwing something up.

[TrekTheKaty]

Yep, nothing they do for a broken toe--just tape it to the other toe.

I had bike problems on a two-day ride and we think it was from our bikes rubbing on the bike rack. Is it possible somebody chains their bike against yours--sometime during the day? Still not good, but not malicious.

[channlluv]

I hope your toe heals quickly. That looks like it really hurts.

Kinda makes you want to make a little cap for your gear shifters with a photo of your injured toe with a caption reading, "Don't touch my bike," or "You think it's funny to mess with my gears. I think it hurts. A lot."

Feel better soon.

Roxy