После падения врач сказал мне не наступать на ногу.

Literally, it means after the fall.

• после = after
• падение = a fall / falling
• падения is the form used after после

So После падения sets the time: After I fell or After the fall.

Because the preposition после requires the genitive case.

So:

• падение = nominative, dictionary form
• после падения = after the fall

This is a very common pattern in Russian:

• после урока = after the lesson
• после работы = after work
• после падения = after the fall

Мне is the dative case of я, and here it means to me.

So:

• врач сказал = the doctor said
• врач сказал мне = the doctor said to me

Russian often uses the dative for the person who is told something:

• сказать кому? = to say to whom?
• мне = to me

Because сказал is the masculine past tense form.

That tells you the doctor is being treated as grammatically male here:

• врач сказал = the doctor said (male doctor)
• врач сказала = the doctor said (female doctor)

The noun врач is grammatically masculine, even though it can refer to a man or a woman. If the doctor were female, Russian normally shows that in the verb: врач сказала.

Both patterns are possible in Russian.

Here, сказал мне не наступать is a very natural way to say told me not to step on / not to put weight on something.

Structure:

• сказал мне = told me
• не наступать = not to step / not to put weight

This dative + infinitive pattern is common after verbs like сказать, велеть, просить, especially when giving instructions.

The alternative:

• сказал, чтобы я не наступал на ногу

also works, but it is a bit more explicit and slightly heavier in structure.

Because after сказал мне in this kind of instruction, Russian often uses an infinitive to express what someone was told to do or not do.

So:

• сказал мне не наступать на ногу = told me not to step on / not to put weight on my leg

This is similar to English told me not to...

The infinitive here is not tied to a subject ending like я наступаю or я наступал. It just expresses the action itself: to step / to put weight.

This is mainly about aspect.

• наступать = imperfective
• наступить = perfective

Here, the doctor means don’t put weight on it, as a general instruction over a period of time, not just don’t do it once. That makes the imperfective very natural.

So не наступать на ногу means something like:

• not to step on it
• not to put weight on it
• not to be stepping on it

In medical advice, Russian often prefers the imperfective for ongoing restrictions or repeated actions.

Because наступать на takes the accusative case.

So:

• dictionary form: нога
• accusative singular: ногу

That gives:

• наступать на ногу = to step on a leg/foot, or in this context, to put weight on the leg/foot

This is the normal pattern:

• наступить на камень = step on a stone
• наступить на ногу = step on a foot / step onto the leg

It can mean either leg or foot, depending on context.

Russian нога is broader than English leg. It can refer to the lower limb in general, and sometimes English has to choose between leg and foot based on the situation.

In this sentence, the most natural English meaning is often:

• The doctor told me not to put weight on my leg
• or, depending on the injury, ...not to step on my foot

So the exact English word depends on context, but not to put weight on it is often the best way to capture the Russian meaning.

Russian often leaves out possessives with body parts when the owner is obvious.

So на ногу here naturally implies on my leg/foot, because the sentence is about the speaker and the doctor’s advice to that person.

This is very common in Russian:

• Он поднял руку = He raised his hand
• У меня болит голова = My head hurts
• не наступать на ногу = not to put weight on my leg/foot

Adding мою is possible, but it is usually unnecessary unless you want special emphasis.

The word order is natural, but not the only possibility.

После падения врач сказал мне не наступать на ногу is a normal way to present the information:

1. После падения = time/background
2. врач сказал мне = main action
3. не наступать на ногу = what the doctor said

You could rearrange parts, for example:

• Врач сказал мне после падения не наступать на ногу

but that is less smooth and may sound slightly less natural depending on emphasis.

Putting После падения first is a very common Russian way to set the scene before the main statement.