My 12-yr old broke her pinky pig. We did have it x-rayed to make sure it wasn't completely out of alignment, then buddy wrapped it for about a month (until she could walk without it hurting.) Ibuprophen and ice for the initial swelling, and kept it up when she was sitting, but didn't make a point of her "staying off" of it. Her level of discomfort was a pretty good guage for her level of activity.