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Do
you have crooked toes or toes that look like little hammers or claws? You may
have hammer toes. A hammer toe or contracted toe is a deformity caused by a
tendon imbalance on the second, third or fourth toe causing it to be
permanently bent, resembling a hammer. Mallet toe and claw toe are similar to
hammer toes.
Hammer toes are most
often caused from wearing ill fitted shoes that force the toe into a bent
position. Wearing these shoes for long periods of time can cause the muscles in
them to shorten, resulting in the hammer toe deformity.
The hammer toe
deformity can be flexible, semi-rigid, or rigid in nature. In a flexible hammer
toe, the joint has the ability to move. This type of hammer toe can be
straightened manually. A rigid or semi-rigid hammer toe does not have that same
ability to move. Movement is very limited and can be extremely painful. This
sometimes causes foot movement to become restricted leading to extra stress to
the ball of the foot, and possibly causing pain and may also cause painful
corns and calluses on the top of the digit (at the joint) and at the tip of the
toe--due to pressure--or under the ball of the foot from retrograde pressure.
Conservative treatment
starts with new shoes with soft, deep toe boxes to avoid rubbing. Your
podiatrist may also recommend padding to decrease pressure on the area.
Surgery would be the
final resort. Your podiatrist can do a simple procedure done in office called
Percutaneous Tenotomy, which releases the contracted tendon. For more serious
hammer toes, your podiatrist can do 1 or 2 surgeries in the operating room.
Arthroplasty is a surgery to relieve pain and restore range of motion by
reconstructing a joint. Arthrodesis is a surgical procedure which fuses the
bones that form a joint, essentially eliminating the joint.
If you have
hammer toes and live in the Dayton/Springfield area, Community Foot Specialists
can help! Call today to schedule your appointment. We’re always accepting new
patients! 937-426-9500
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