Hammertoe: Which toe gets affected?

Hammertoe: Insight

Hammer toe can be defined as a condition of foot deformity meaning a painful foot condition in which the toes curl and arch up that leads to heavy pain when wearing footwear. Hammer toe usually affects the second and third toe of the feet. Hammer toe can be diagnosed by doing a set of physical examination of the feet.

Cause of Hammer Toe

Most commonly a hammer toe occurs when the middle joint of the toe becomes bent or flexed downwards.

General Causes include

• Pressure from bunion
• Tightened ligaments
• Arthritis
• Traumatic toe injury
• Damage in the spinal cord or peripheral nerve

Symptoms of hammer toe

Hammer toe is bound to give an uneasy discomfort while walking. It causes unbearable pain if intended to stretch the toe.

• Bending toe
• Calluses or corns
• Toe looking like claw
• Inability to flex the toe
• Adapting difficulty in walking

Is surgery required for hammer toe?

Hammer toe surgery can never be the primary option. Hammer can be of different categories it may cause mild or severe. If there is severe hammer toe then hammer toe surgery is required. The best way to judge is to visit a doctor as soon as you feel uneasy.

Hammer toe surgery should be opted out in these basic following options

• Active infection
• Poor health condition
• Poor blood circulation in the feet.

Doctors prescribe Hammer toe surgery in severe conditions such as joint toe fusion and joint resection or even if you have swollen toes.

Hammer toe surgery is considered to be the least choice left for any hammer toe patient. Therefore it is of utmost importance to meet a doctor as soon as possible because a mild hammer toe condition can also lead to serious mishaps. In case the doctors recommend doing a Hammer toe surgery then it may be simply out of a failure in responding to treatments.

How can hammer toe be treated?

Hammer toe can be cured by wearing appropriate footwear and wearing properly fitting shoes. Mainly the high arch toe condition is caused by wearing toe pads that do not fit better. Correct toe pads shift the toe position that relieves the toe for getting overlapped from pressure.

Hammer toe treatment can be done using over the counter cushions, bunions, corns, and medications. Applying over the counter creams provides relief to blistering infections, and an ice pack can be used as Hammer toe treatment as well.

Preventive measures for hammer toe

Hammer toe problems in most cases have found out to be either from family history or chronically using tight pointed shoes. 

Eventually, a hammer toe can be avoided by taking certain stringent changes in your daily routine.

• Must avoid wearing shoes that are tight and narrow or don’t fit well. An especially woman who wears heels up to 6 inches must cut it down to 2 inches.
• Choose shoes that are much wider from the tip that gives you ½ inch between the end of the longest toe and inside the tip of the show.