Newly broken toe- best shoes? Any other advice?

[3monkeys4me]

My 12 year old broke her toe yesterday. We will be heading to California for 2 days in the parks , a day at Knotts and a beach day before hopping on a short cruise and heading home. The fracture isn’t too bad but her foot is still very bruised and swollen. The doctor suggested buddy taping and wearing a firm soled shoe but at this point she can’t get her foot in a shoe. She does have a pair of Birkenstocks she’ll bring but I am worried that her foot with get stepped on. Anyone have any advice?
Ironically she broke her foot about 6 months ago, right before Christmas and a trip to visit family and missed a planned ski trip because she was in a boot.
As a side note she is almost 13 and stubborn so she won’t use a wheelchair or anything like that. I figure we will just have to take it slow. The good thing is the two of us were planning and mother/daughter trip for Halloween in October so it isn’t a one time trip.

 

[ColoradoLime]

I recently broke my toe - sounds similar where it was barely fractured but definitely swollen and ugly. I wore my very supportive running shoes and appreciated the support. I wear Brooks - If you have time for shipping you might find a pair on sale at Zappos. But you can look up the models on the Brooks website and they'll tell you how much support they have.

Buddy taping is definitely a must. Her foot might get stepped on anyway and an athletic shoe of any kind is going to provide that much of a bumper from that. If you really want protection you could buy her a pair of trail running shoes that have a solid toe box. They just aren't the most comfortable to wear for hours on end.

I had a really bad broken toe once and had to use the wooden sole shoe and it was awful.

 

[DLgal]

My son broke a toe and wore his Crocs (original clogs) comfortably, including for long days at Disneyland. We did Buddy tape it with 3M Coban tape. It's much more comfortable than regular medical tape.

 

[3monkeys4me]

Thanks!
I’m not sure what type of tape the doctor gave us, it is perforated though and he said it was pretty breathable. We live in AZ and it is pretty hot so he suggested lambs wool to help with the sweat issue.

I thought of Brooks but I don’t think she’ll wear them. And she isn’t a fan of crocs but they seem like they would give her toes some room too.

This kid gives me grey hair. Every vacation she breaks a bone. I mentioned the foot earlier, she’s only been out of the air cast and off crutches like 2 months. And before we went to Australia she broke her arm in two places. I need to invest in some bubble wrap. Thankfully as stubborn as she is, she will power through without much complaint. But with her foot she injured it initially and then made the break much worse in the first two weeks of the boot and only narrowly avoided surgery so I am not interested in her pushing herself too hard again. Thankfully a minor fracture in a toe is less likely to have complications.

 

[DLgal]

Thanks!
I’m not sure what type of tape the doctor gave us, it is perforated though and he said it was pretty breathable. We live in AZ and it is pretty hot so he suggested lambs wool to help with the sweat issue.

I thought of Brooks but I don’t think she’ll wear them. And she isn’t a fan of crocs but they seem like they would give her toes some room too.

This kid gives me grey hair. Every vacation she breaks a bone. I mentioned the foot earlier, she’s only been out of the air cast and off crutches like 2 months. And before we went to Australia she broke her arm in two places. I need to invest in some bubble wrap. Thankfully as stubborn as she is, she will power through without much complaint. But with her foot she injured it initially and then made the break much worse in the first two weeks of the boot and only narrowly avoided surgery so I am not interested in her pushing herself too hard again. Thankfully a minor fracture in a toe is less likely to have complications.

She's 12. Don't give her a choice. Buy her some Crocs in her favorite color. They are cool now, doesn't she know? Get her some cute Disney jibbitz for them. (Those are cool again too).

Crocs are actually very good for broken toes. They are roomy and supportive while also being soft on the uppers.

 

[acgardne]

Would she use a knee scooter? Renting one of those would at least let her stay off that foot a bit, if she won’t use a wheelchair.

If her foot it too swollen to fit into sneakers, then it seems like it would be too painful to walk around too much. Definitely get a shoe that can be adjusted, either with straps or laces, so that it doesn’t get too tight if the foot swells in the park.

I’ve sprained, torn, and broken enough parts of my ankles and feet that I feel for her! Hope she heals quickly!

 

[DLgal]

Would she use a knee scooter? Renting one of those would at least let her stay off that foot a bit, if she won’t use a wheelchair.

If her foot it too swollen to fit into sneakers, then it seems like it would be too painful to walk around too much. Definitely get a shoe that can be adjusted, either with straps or laces, so that it doesn’t get too tight if the foot swells in the park.

I’ve sprained, torn, and broken enough parts of my ankles and feet that I feel for her! Hope she heals quickly!

Knee scooters are a pain at Disneyland, due to all the uneven surfaces. They are hard to maneuver as well. My son hated it. He just walked on his broken toe. As long as it isn't the large toe or the one next to it, it won't be that painful after the first couple days.

 

[3monkeys4me]

I thought of the knee scooter, since we have one. A king with crutches. But even with her foot being non weight bearing for 3+ months she rarely used the knee scooter and preferred the crutches. But those don’t sound great for Disney either. Hopefully the swelling goes down in the next few days and she’ll have a few more options.
I’m really not interested in a shoe battle with her. I’ve been through the teen girl stage before and I have learned to pick my battles. Sure I can win any fight but it won’t be pretty and not the way we want to spend our very limited family time together. Our oldest is home for just a couple more weeks before she is back to college.
I think we have a general plan. One suggestion the doctor had was a firm skateboarding shoe, not the “fashion” variety. So I ordered a pair for pickup tomorrow and we will see how they fit. And bring her Birkenstocks since they do seem to be pretty comfortable for her now and were the shoes she wore when she first broke her foot before we knew it was broken. I was also able to switch one of our Disney reservations so now we will have a rest day in between which may be better than 2 days on her feet the whole day.

 

[acgardne]

I

Sounds like you have a great plan! I feel your pain about picking your battles with your kids. Hope you find a shoe she can (and will) wear!

 

[chezcurrie]

Birks are my preferred footwear for the parks, and haven’t had any squished toes yet.

 

[StarlitNight05]

Sorry to hear about your daughters toe! I think the Birks could be okay if you avoid walking in highly congested areas. DH has had his foot run over by a stroller (not intentionally, it was just a super crowded time after F!). Maybe she could switch to a firm shoe during the night to be safe since it can be hard to see? Well, assuming that is comfortable for her. Best of luck!

 

[PatMcDuck]

The boot really feels great that Podiatrists give you.

BUT another great alternative is what they call a cast shoe. They sell at medical supply places, probably Amazon too? The key is it does NOT flex at ALL, and has soft adjustable velcro type straps. It is a life saver. Now it does have that foot up higher than most sneakers so on the good foot something taller like a Croc shoe gives you even heights.

My one son broke toes about 4X, me twice.

 

[DLgal]

The boot really feels great that Podiatrists give you.

BUT another great alternative is what they call a cast shoe. They sell at medical supply places, probably Amazon too? The key is it does NOT flex at ALL, and has soft adjustable velcro type straps. It is a life saver. Now it does have that foot up higher than most sneakers so on the good foot something taller like a Croc shoe gives you even heights.

My one son broke toes about 4X, me twice.

I disagree. My son could barely walk to the car from inside the doctors office with that stupid nonflexible, hard shoe. It went straight in the trash when we got home. I tried it on and didn't make it even 10 steps. It was painful and I didn't even have an injury!

 

[Twitterpaited]

Birks makes some closed-toed shoes.

 

[Matrixleos]

@3monkeys4me had a family member recently use this site for their teenaged girl who broke their toe, linked below called SafetyGirl. They specialize in steel toe sneakers, boots, shoes for girls. They used buddy tape and compression socks. The steel toed sneakers they got for their teenager just provided a level of comfort for her, as her fear was her foot getting stepped on accidently. Costs range from $59.99 and up. Like your daughter, her foot was swollen too, so they just got one size larger than what she normally would wear and that worked out well, especially with the compression socks that she wore for extra support.

She still was worried about the steel toed sneakers but her brother was more than happy to test stepping on her toes on her "good" foot and she felt more at ease as she didn't feel a thing!

https://www.safetygirl.com/womens-b...CsJBBYAV8Wt0da3b72q71SxIR1l9xFnBoCe4UQAvD_BwE

 

[3monkeys4me]

@3monkeys4me had a family member recently use this site for their teenaged girl who broke their toe, linked below called SafetyGirl. They specialize in steel toe sneakers, boots, shoes for girls. They used buddy tape and compression socks. The steel toed sneakers they got for their teenager just provided a level of comfort for her, as her fear was her foot getting stepped on accidently. Costs range from $59.99 and up. Like your daughter, her foot was swollen too, so they just got one size larger than what she normally would wear and that worked out well, especially with the compression socks that she wore for extra support.

She still was worried about the steel toed sneakers but her brother was more than happy to test stepping on her toes on her "good" foot and she felt more at ease as she didn't feel a thing!

https://www.safetygirl.com/womens-b...CsJBBYAV8Wt0da3b72q71SxIR1l9xFnBoCe4UQAvD_BwE

We leave in the morning so not enough time to order but thanks for the link. I’m going to save that for future use if we ever find ourselves in this situation again. We did get a pair of Vans that have a non bendable sole and she was able to wear them for a couple of ours today before they started bothering her. The swelling is starting to go down and we still have one more day of healing to go so hopefully things are headed in the right direction.
I think we are just going to have to be mindful of crowds. I might try having her stand in the middle of the family but honestly we are just as likely to step on her toe as anyone else.

 

[TCRAIG]

I broke both my big toes years ago - at least for me - the hard soled Velcro top boots were the only thing I could wear and walk in - but you do need to kind of walk differently so you don’t try and flex your foot at all.

 

[3monkeys4me]

@3monkeys4me had a family member recently use this site for their teenaged girl who broke their toe, linked below called SafetyGirl. They specialize in steel toe sneakers, boots, shoes for girls. They used buddy tape and compression socks. The steel toed sneakers they got for their teenager just provided a level of comfort for her, as her fear was her foot getting stepped on accidently. Costs range from $59.99 and up. Like your daughter, her foot was swollen too, so they just got one size larger than what she normally would wear and that worked out well, especially with the compression socks that she wore for extra support.

She still was worried about the steel toed sneakers but her brother was more than happy to test stepping on her toes on her "good" foot and she felt more at ease as she didn't feel a thing!

https://www.safetygirl.com/womens-b...CsJBBYAV8Wt0da3b72q71SxIR1l9xFnBoCe4UQAvD_BwE

I broke both my big toes years ago - at least for me - the hard soled Velcro top boots were the only thing I could wear and walk in - but you do need to kind of walk differently so you don’t try and flex your foot at all.

Ouch! Both big toes being broken sounds very painful and difficult to deal with.

It’s her baby toe which does make things easier as far as walking goes. I think when the swelling is gone things will be a ton better for her. The swelling on her toe is down, still a litttle swollen on the top of her foot which is a bit worrisome. We did talk to her doc today and he wants us to bring the air cast we have just in case the foot swelling doesn’t go down. He is slightly concerned that she might have a break on the foot that wasn’t picked up on the initial X-ray. The bruising is healing though so fingers are crossed.
She’s only been out of the boot for a few months so she is not excited about possibly being back in it.

 

[TCRAIG]

Baby toes - I’ve broken those a million times - usually it’s just sore for a day….my middle and next to the last toes had been broken so many times that they ended up having to remove the bones.

 

[3monkeys4me]

Wow! Your poor toes.

And yes, usually the baby toe heals pretty quick from what I have seen. It doesn’t seem to be the case for her. The only fracture that was visible was a small one near the growth plate on her baby toe. She broke the 5th metatarsal on her other foot at the growth plate last December. The swelling is in a similar location, though not quite as bad and she was not in as much pain when the injury happened this time so hoping that is a good sign for her. She is walking around okay today, as long as she has it taped and has a shoe on. Hopefully that is a good sign that everything is healing as it should. It’s been almost a week now so hoping that she will heal quickly from this point on.