![]() ![]() Taping may change the imbalance around the toes and thus relieve the stress and pain. Padding the hammer toe prominence minimizes pain and allows the patient to continue a normal, active life. Padding and Taping: Often padding and taping are the first steps in a treatment plan. Your podiatric physician will examine and X-ray the affected area and recommend a treatment plan specific to your condition. The treatment options vary with the type and severity of each hammer toe, although identifying the deformity early in its development is important to avoid surgery. If left untreated, hammer toes tend to become rigid, making non-surgical treatment less of an option. Children should have their shoes properly fitted on a regular basis, as their feet can often outgrow their shoes rapidly. Avoid wearing shoes that are too tight or narrow.A trip to the podiatrist's office will be necessary to repair the toe to allow for normal foot function. While this treatment will make the hammer toe feel better, it is important to remember that it does not cure the condition. A loose-fitting pair of shoes can also help protect the foot while reducing pressure on the affected toe, making walking a little easier until a visit to your podiatrist can be arranged.If the hammer toe becomes inflamed and painful, apply ice packs several times a day to reduce swelling.Apply a commercial, non-medicated hammer toe pad around the bony prominence of the hammer toe to decrease pressure on the area.Pain in the ball of the foot at the base of the affected toe.Restricted or painful motion of the toe joint.Redness and swelling at the joint contracture.Formation of corns on the top of the joint.Pain at the top of the bent toe upon pressure from footwear.The symptoms of a hammer toe include the following: Wearing shoes that are too tight and cause the toes to squeeze can also cause a hammer toe to form. Arthritis is another factor, because the balance around the toe in people with arthritis is disrupted. Heredity and trauma can also lead to the formation of a hammer toe. This abnormal balance causes increased pressures on the tendons and joints of the toe, leading to its contracture. CausesĪ hammer toe develops because of an abnormal balance of the muscles in the toes. The tendons in a rigid hammer toe have become tight, and the joint misaligned and immobile, making surgery the usual course of treatment. Rigid hammer toes can be seen in patients with severe arthritis, for example, or in patients who wait too long to seek professional treatment. Rigid Hammer Toes: This variety is more developed and more serious than the flexible condition. They are called flexible hammer toes because they are still moveable at the joint. (You may also see it written as one word, hammertoe or hammertoes.)įlexible Hammer Toes: These hammer toes are less serious because they can be diagnosed and treated while still in the developmental stage. Hammer toes are more common in females than males. Any toe can be involved, but the condition usually affects the second through fifth toes, known as the lesser digits. This bending causes the toe to appear like an upside-down V when looked at from the side. Center for Professional Advocacy/State AdvocacyĪ hammer toe is a contracture, or bending, of the toe at the first joint of the digit, called the proximal interphalangeal joint.Conditions Affecting the Foot and Ankle.Residency Education Resource Center (REdRC). ![]() American Podiatric Medical Students' Association (APMSA).Clerkships, Matching, and Match Phase II.American Association of Colleges of Podiatric Medicine (AACPM).Council on Podiatric Medical Education (CPME).Humanitarian Missionary Community Medicine Databases.History and Physical Examinations (H&Ps).Hospital Privileges and Medical Staff Provisions.Hospital Privileging and Credentialing Resource Guide.Medical Directors and Chief of Medical Staff in Non-Emergency Service Facilities.Physician Payment Sunshine Act (Open Payments).Medicare and Medicaid Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) Information. ![]()
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