Our toes are supposed to lay flat on the ground when we’re standing upright, but as a result of damage to the supportive soft tissues that hold the toes in place, you may find that one or more of your smaller toes is bent or crooked. When this bend occurs on the middle joint of your toe, forcing the mid-toe upwards and causing the tip of the toe to point down, it is known as a hammertoe, and it’s quite common among older adults.

These hammertoes aren’t always painful, but they can turn symptomatic or cause discomfort when trying to fit your foot into shoes. Conservative treatment can oftentimes address the problem, but the patient has significant influence over whether or not treatment is effective. In today’s blog, we explain how you can reduce your likelihood of needing surgery to address a hammertoe.

Effective Conservative Treatments For Hammertoes

As we mentioned above, hammertoes are typically the result of damage to the muscles and tendons that help hold the toe in a flat position. When they are injured, these tissues contract, oftentimes pulling the tip of the toe downward as the mid-toe bends upwards. But what leads to this tissue damage? In most cases, hammertoe onset is caused by factors like:

• Poor footwear choices (high heels, narrow toed shoes, etc.)
• Natural arthritic degeneration
• Underlying health conditions like diabetes
• Having high arches or smaller toes that are longer than your big toe

Hammertoes are not typically painful in their early stages, but if you don’t do anything, soft tissue damage will increase and the bend will likely become more severe and symptomatic. Treatment can be successful, but there are a number of factors that influence how effective conservative hammertoe treatment can be. Here’s what you can do to increase your likelihood of successfully treating your hammertoe:

• Early Treatment – Hammertoes tend to progress through three specific stages: soft, semi-rigid and rigid. Soft hammertoes are more responsive to treatment because damage is minimal. Rigid hammertoes are the result of a significant contraction of the muscles and tendons in the area, and conservative care can only do so much once it has  progressed to this point. The sooner you work to treat the problem, even if you’re not yet in pain, the higher the likelihood you can restore the toe to its normal position.
• Shoe Switch – Poor footwear choices are the leading cause of soft tissue damage in the toes and hammertoe onset, so it’s necessary to reevaluate your shoe choices and switch to a supportive and roomier option. Wearing a splint or brace to help correct the toe bend can only do so much if you continue to put your feet into shoes that force your toes back into poor positioning.
• Consistent Treatment – Finally, consistency matters when it comes to hammertoe treatment effectiveness. You need to wear your splint or brace as directed by your physician, and you need to ditch the poorly fitting shoes. If you don’t always put your splint on at night, or you cram your feet into heels on the weekends, the progress you’ve made can be lost. Stick with your conservative care plan so that you can continue to make progress instead of stalling or suffering a setback.

If you do all of the above and consult with a specialist like Dr. McDonald to oversee the process, we’re confident you’ll be able to rectify your hammertoe issue without the need for surgery. In the event that your hammertoe has progressed beyond the point of conservative care, Dr. McDonald can address the toe with a minimally invasive operation to restore your normal toe positioning. Don’t live with bent toes that are uncomfortable in shoes any longer. Connect with Dr. McDonald and his team for all your toe misalignment needs at (860) 244-8889.