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What Causes Change In Color Of Foot Post Injury?
Question: I recently tore a tendon in my foot. I have been wearing a boot for about six weeks. I recently started taking the boot off when I am at home, at night. Since then, I have noticed that when I am sitting, my injured foot starts turning purple and becomes cold to the touch. My other foot remains mostly a normal color and temperature, but my toes turn a little purple and feel cold. My entire injured foot turns purple and cold. If I get up and walk around, it goes back to normal. I understand that this could be a circulation problem...but why is it mainly happening in only one foot? I also have a small extra bone in that foot, my doctor thinks that is why the tendon tore. There is not really a time that I injured the foot, it just suddenly became very painful to walk. My other concern is that the foot has not healed yet. My doctor told me it should take 4-6 weeks but it has been 6 weeks and now it still seems injured.
Brief Answer:
Due to decreased blood circulation.
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for posting your query.
The change in color of the foot is due to a circulatory compromise. It is possible that while sitting the blood vessel that supplies the foot gets compressed. If massaging the foot and moving around again restores the color back to normal then there is no need to worry.
The healing of tendons is slow as it is a less vascular structure. You need to continue wearing the boot till it is completely healed. Color doppler study of the leg will help in detecting the cause of vascular compromise.
I hope this answers your query.
In case you have additional questions or doubts, you can forward them to me, and I shall be glad to help you out.
Wishing you good health.
Regards.
Dr. Praveen Tayal.
For future query, you can directly approach me through my profile URL http://bit.ly/Dr-Praveen-Tayal
Due to decreased blood circulation.
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for posting your query.
The change in color of the foot is due to a circulatory compromise. It is possible that while sitting the blood vessel that supplies the foot gets compressed. If massaging the foot and moving around again restores the color back to normal then there is no need to worry.
The healing of tendons is slow as it is a less vascular structure. You need to continue wearing the boot till it is completely healed. Color doppler study of the leg will help in detecting the cause of vascular compromise.
I hope this answers your query.
In case you have additional questions or doubts, you can forward them to me, and I shall be glad to help you out.
Wishing you good health.
Regards.
Dr. Praveen Tayal.
For future query, you can directly approach me through my profile URL http://bit.ly/Dr-Praveen-Tayal
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Hi,
Thanks for the information, that is very helpful.
A couple of follow up questions:
1. Is the circulatory issue something I should be concerned about long-term? Like will it cause worse problems in the future?
2. I am trying to figure out when I can know that the tendon is fully healed...should there be any pain at all when it is fully healed? What about discoloring? Right now it looks slightly bruised around the injury. Should I expect the bruising to last at all past when the tendon is fully healed?
3. I have noticed that the two toes that were affected by the torn tendon have moved slightly...there is more space between my third and fourth toes than there used to be. They used to be touching slightly, now there is a very noticeable amount of space between them and they are not touching at all. Is this something that I should be concerned about?
Thanks for the information, that is very helpful.
A couple of follow up questions:
1. Is the circulatory issue something I should be concerned about long-term? Like will it cause worse problems in the future?
2. I am trying to figure out when I can know that the tendon is fully healed...should there be any pain at all when it is fully healed? What about discoloring? Right now it looks slightly bruised around the injury. Should I expect the bruising to last at all past when the tendon is fully healed?
3. I have noticed that the two toes that were affected by the torn tendon have moved slightly...there is more space between my third and fourth toes than there used to be. They used to be touching slightly, now there is a very noticeable amount of space between them and they are not touching at all. Is this something that I should be concerned about?
Brief Answer:
Details below.
Detailed Answer:
Hello.
Thanks for writing again.
1. The circulatory issue should be looked into and it can further progress in the long term. The decrease in circulation will also delay healing.
2. The mild pain may be there even after the tendon has healed due to the presence of scar tissue.
The bruising is the skin coloration. It will take weeks to fade away completely. It is not related to the tendon healing.
3. The space can appear due to a decrease in the muscle tone in the area. The space will decrease as you will start using your foot properly.
Hope my answer is helpful.
Do accept my answer in case there are no further queries.
Regards.
Details below.
Detailed Answer:
Hello.
Thanks for writing again.
1. The circulatory issue should be looked into and it can further progress in the long term. The decrease in circulation will also delay healing.
2. The mild pain may be there even after the tendon has healed due to the presence of scar tissue.
The bruising is the skin coloration. It will take weeks to fade away completely. It is not related to the tendon healing.
3. The space can appear due to a decrease in the muscle tone in the area. The space will decrease as you will start using your foot properly.
Hope my answer is helpful.
Do accept my answer in case there are no further queries.
Regards.
Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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