HAMMERTOES

 Oh my crooked toes! I notice that over the years my toes are getting more crooked. Why is this happening?  I don’t wear high heeled shoes (often) and I don’t wear pointy toed shoes, so why are my toes becoming more crooked with age? Hammertoes are a contracture of the joints of the toes, making your toe look like a little hammer (no imagination needed there). They have been called mallet toes, curly toes or simply contracted toes; but these are all another description for simply hammertoes. They usually start out as a mild, flexible deformity and progress to a severe, rigid contracture. Corns usually develop as this toe contracture progresses. These can lead to open sores or ulcers if left untreated. Hammertoes are progressive in nature, so early treatment is imperative.

What causes hammertoes? Mechanical imbalance of the tendons in the toes is the most common cause of hammertoes. This can be caused by faulty, inherited biomechanics, and aggravated by improper fitting shoe gear. (Yes, this is where we blame high-heeled, pointy-toes shoes) Occasionally, hammertoes are caused by a broken toe or underlying neuromuscular condition.
Symptoms of hammertoes are pain or irritation of the toes when wearing shoes, redness, swelling, and pain, as well as chronic corns and even wounds on the affected toes. Dislocation of the toe joint and progressive stiffening is common in long-term hammertoes.

Treatment for hammertoes include trimming of corns, padding, changes in shoe gear, orthotic devices to control abnormal biomechanics, splinting, anti-inflammatories or injection therapy for inflammation and surgery.

When is surgery needed for hammertoes? If you have pain every day, in every pair of shoes you own (including your athletic shoes) and you have treated your condition with conservative therapy without any relief; it’s time to discuss corrective surgery. Surgery should never be contemplated without pain and activity limitations. There are many advances in foot surgery and varied procedures depending on your foot type, the stage of your deformity, your activity level, your medical history, and your age.

Make an appointment to discuss surgery with your podiatrist if you have progressing symptoms. If conservative treatment fails, surgery can successfully remove the deformity allowing you to go back to your normal shoe gear and activities. Call or contact us on the website for an appointment today to get your questions answers. Don’t live with the pain and throw out all your favorite shoes. Answers await for you hammertoe problems.