Depends on what bone you broke! Did they tell you which one?

Edit: I say it depends because there are some important structural or movement related bones in the foot but there’s also some bones that barely do anything.

I’m assuming since they didn’t cast it that means you broke a useless bone.

NAD. The point of either is just to immobilize the foot and give it a little protection until it heals.

Splints do come in all shapes and sizes though. One could be made with cloth and some kind of support. A commercial one may look like a smaller version of a boot, but with less support for walking.

Just be gentle when taking off the splint and putting on the boot. They accomplish the same thing and redundancy would be uncomfortable and likely counterproductive.

Always just call your doctors office and ask, if that is an option.

Edit: As some other commenter said, if the break was serious, you would be in a cast. There are boots that fit over casts as well.

ASK YOUR DOCTOR

Using a broken bone can fuck it up BAD; but bones also develop along stress patterns - the spongy interior of a bone (cancellous) actually has a pattern to it that develops by normal usage and aligns with stress points.

Whether rest or stress is what your bone needs right depends on your personal physiology and the current state of its injury/recovery. Your discharge instructions should have crystal clear do’s and don’ts, but if you’re unclear about anything, you need to consult the folks who understand what’s going on with this specific injury.

I would err on the side of rest in the mean time, but seriously ASK YOU DOC.