What causes hammertoe?
Hammertoe stems from an imbalance in the connective tissues in your toe, often where your ligaments, tendons, or muscle contract. You wind up with an abnormal bend in the middle joint of your toe. Most commonly, hammertoe affects your second toe, especially if it’s longer than your big toe, although this condition can affect any of your toes. Hammertoe is often caused by:
- Regularly wearing snug-fitting shoes
- Trauma to the toe joint, including stubbing your toe
- Arthritis or diabetes
Mallet toe is a similar condition — with similar treatments — that affects the joint closest to your toenail.
Is hammertoe painful?
It can be. It’s common for hammertoe sufferers to develop corns or calluses on the affected toe, which can make walking or standing uncomfortable, due to friction from shoes. A hammertoe can become rigid as joint inflammation increases, ultimately causing pain.
Over time, pain from a hammertoe can make walking become so uncomfortable, you start changing your step — ultimately changing your entire gait — just to avoid putting pressure on the sore toe. This can lead to further issues including heel, ankle, and knee pain.
How is a hammertoe treated?
With their advanced training in modern podiatric therapies and solutions, the team of podiatrists at Town Center Foot & Ankle can help you get relief from hammertoe discomfort. If your hammertoe is still flexible, meaning you can bend it comfortably, simply switching to roomier shoes with more wiggle room in the toes may help. But if your hammertoe is causing severe pain or is rigid, you may benefit from:
- Custom orthotics
- Padding or taping
- In-house physical therapy
While less common, sometimes the best way to resolve hammertoe discomfort is through surgery. The foot surgeons at Town Center Foot & Ankle use minimally invasive tools and techniques to carefully release the connective tissue that’s keeping your toe in a bent position.
In some cases, hammertoe surgery also involves removing a small piece of bone tissue to further help straighten out your toe. Your hammertoe surgery is tailored to you specifically, so you can expect relief with minimal downtime.
To request your hammertoe evaluation at Town Center Foot & Ankle, call the office nearest you today or click on the online requesting feature.
