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| Hammertoes and Big Toe Pain |
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Do you have big toe pain? If your toes appear crooked or misshapen, especially the big toe, chances are you have hammertoes.
Hammertoes, sometimes known as clawed toes, crooked toes or mallet toes, can form on your feet regardless of age or sex, and can often produce big toe pain. |
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| Causes: |
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- High-arched feet where the tendon on the top of the foot pulls back on the toes.
- A muscle imbalance from an unnatural walk.
- Genetics.
- Ill-fitting shoes that put pressure on the toes in an unnatural way.
- Shoes with a small toe box can rub against toes, causing big toe pain.
- Narrow shoes, like many women’s shoes, can pinch toes and also produce troublesome big toe pain.
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| Symptoms: |
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Hammertoes form when your foot is flattened, and greater than usual stress is placed on your foot. (People with flat feet, then, are especially at risk.)
The onset of hammertoes takes the form of calluses. Ongoing chafing leads to corns or, on occasion, ulcers, both of which can cause big toe pain. As the tendons on the bottom of your feet try to stabilize each foot, the muscles controlling the toes feel the added pressure, and your toes pull back, forcing the knuckles to become prominent. Hammertoes, as well as big toe pain, result.
As the condition worsens, walking can become extremely difficult and big toe pain extremely irritating. The misshapen hammertoes may hit shoes at the wrong spots, causing friction. Fashionable shoes are not made to accommodate distorted hammertoes. As contact continues between gnarled hammertoes and the shoe, irritation and big toe pain sets in.
Once hammertoes are fully retracted, it is difficult to straighten them out. |
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| Relief and Prevention: |
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The easiest way to avoid developing hammertoes and keep big toe pain at bay, especially if you have flat feet, is to make sure your shoes have a wide toe box. Shoes that provide extra depth and more room help relieve the pressure put on feet from standing and walking, and can help ease big toe pain.
Other ways to treat hammertoes and big toe pain include:
- Use corn pads and cushions for temporary relief from hammertoe and big toe pain caused by friction.
- If your hammertoes stem from flat feet, shoe inserts and orthotics can help provide support, encouraging the muscles to work together as a team.
If you have hammertoes, and your toes look severely bent and cannot be straightened out with treatment, surgery may be required. See a podiatrist for a consultation. |
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| Overlapping Toes, Pinched Toes: |
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Some people may also be diagnosed with different forms of hammertoes:
- Overlapping toes, when your toes rest on top of each other, can cause discomfort due to friction. Sufferers can relieve this pain, which includes big toe pain, by wearing shoes with a wide toe box, or by adding supports like gel toe seperators , gel toe caps and toe comps to keep toes separated.
- Pinched toes, the term given to toes that mash and rub against each other so much that soft corns develop, can also cause general toe pain and big toe pain. Sufferers can relieve big toe pain by taking measures to keep toes apart. Again, wear shoes with a large toe box for ample wiggle room, and wear products such as top caps, toe spacer cushions and toe separators to treat big toe pain and other painful toe-related symptoms.
Information on foot, leg and lower body health conditions provided by The Podiatry Institute, dedicated to advancing the standard of care in podiatric medicine and its effects on muscoskeletal health. |
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| Disclaimer for Health Content Pages |
FootSmart lower body health condition content pages describe general principles of healthcare that should not in any event be construed as specific instructions for individual consumers. This material is not intended as a guide to self-medication or as a substitute for proper medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. This healthcare content is for reference only and should not be used to determine treatment for specific medical conditions – only a healthcare provider can do that.
You should discuss the information provided with a podiatrist, physician or other licensed healthcare professional, and make sure to read any product information (including package inserts) regarding dosage, precautions, warnings, interactions and contraindications before administering or using any device, support, brace, compression hosiery, shoes intended for use by diabetics, skincare product, herb, vitamin or supplement discussed on this site.
Proper treatment of lower body health conditions depends upon a number of factors, including, but not limited to, your medical history, diet, lifestyle and medications that may be taking. Your healthcare provider can best assess and address your individual healthcare needs. |
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