stubbed FOOT, difficulty walking

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My 10 year old son stubbed his whole foot while running at the beach. The pain became more and more intense the more he tried to walk on it, until he could no longer walk on it 10 minutes after the injury, and was crying it hurt so much. We iced and elevated it when we got home and rested it overnight. He is able to walk on it today very carefully but it is still painful (pain scale of 1 - 10: about 7). The pain is not localized to any particular area - several areas are hurting. The side of the foot by his pinky toe, the side of the foot by his big toe, the top of the foot between his 1st and 2nd toes. Upward pressure on the middle of the bottom of his foot is very painful.
There is no bruising, and no noticeable swelling anywhere.

The fact that it has improved some seems to be a sign that it's already healing (he went from not being able to walk at ALL, to be able to carefully walk on it). I'm not ready to run to the ER, especially if they are only going to refer to an orthopedic doctor anyway. IS a wait and see approach here inappropriate? Are there long-term consequences I need to be considering? The fact that we do not have insurance is definitely a factor in my decision, And could go either way. If its not a 'treatable' injury I could waste money at the ER. Howver, if it is a serious injury that I ignore, it could be very costly to treat later and cause him permanent damage or reduced function.

Any suggestions?