Hammer Toes? What You Can Do About Them
Hammer toe is a condition in which the joint of the toe is bent and deformed. The toe can eventually end up unable to move and become completely inflexible, which can be painful with time and without treatment. There are different types of treatment available, including wearing toe separators or changing your shoes to something more comfortable, or even with physical therapy, but if these treatments do not work, you may need surgery. Read on for more information about hammer toes.
What Causes Hammer Toe?
Hammer toe can be caused from wearing shoes that are too narrow for your feet, especially in the toe portion. If you wear high heels and your feet are pressed forward too much, it can also lead to hammer toe. Hammer toe is when your toe appears to bend at the joint and stays this way, you cannot straighten it. It usually affects the toes in the middle of your foot, although it can affect your big toe as well. If you wear shoes that are too narrow, or your heels are too high, you should change your footwear immediately to wear something more comfortable for your feet and your toes.
How Can You Help With This Condition?
Changing your footwear can help, but you will also need to do something about your toe after it has already become deformed. You'll need to be sure to get to a podiatrist for help with this condition. Allowing it to go untreated at all can result in the hammer toe worsening, even with the change in your footwear. Physical therapy or toe separators can help. A toe separator is used to separate the toes and gently presses the toe joint back into place. You can use these separators on your toes to help alleviate the pain and to move the toe joint into place.
If you have a hammer toe, you should make an appointment with the podiatrist for help. Don't allow this to go untreated. You should have it treated right away when you notice this condition with your toe and follow the podiatrist's instructions on what to do to help treat this condition. If the treatments are not working, surgery may be necessary. If you have to have surgery, discuss the procedure with your podiatrist and what to expect with the surgery and the recovery time, in addition to any physical therapy you may need afterward.
Contact a podiatrist for more information about hammer toe surgery.