Hammer Toe or Mallet Toe
- A hammer toe is a condition that affects the toes of your feet, causing them to curl towards the foot instead of their natural position.
- Also known as mallet toe, the condition can occur at birth, but may also happen over time.
- The two prominent causes for a hammer toe are arthritis and pressure from tight, ill-fitting footwear.
- The condition can occur on any toe, but the second and third ones are the most susceptible to it.
- Although it can occur at any time, a hammer toe is usually treatable.
- With that in mind, here’s everything you need to know about it:
Causes
The toe has two joints at the middle and bottom that allow it to flex. A hammer toe forms when the middle joint is stretched or if it bends downwards. This can be due to:
- Arthritis
- A toe injury
- Wearing ill-fitting shoes regularly
- Unusually high foot arch
- A bunion adding pressure, which causes the big toe to shift inwards and point towards the next toe.
- Tight tendons or ligaments in the affected foot
- Peripheral nerve or spinal cord damage can cause a hammer toe as well.
Risk Factors
- The risk of a hammer toe increases if you have a family history of the condition.
- Furthermore, regularly wearing ill-fitting shoes increases your risk as well.
- Thickened skin due to calluses, corns, or bunions, can also add pressure and cause your toes to move inward.
- You need to make sure you ease the pressure on your toes if you find yourself at risk.
Signs and Symptoms
- The symptoms you face due to a hammer toe depend on the extent of the condition.
- Mild symptoms include a toe that’s bending inward towards the bottom of your foot, calluses, corns, claw-like toes, difficulty in walking, and an inability to flex or move the toes.
- Severe cases of hammer toes have the same symptoms, but they amplify to cause you discomfort and pain whenever you walk.
- The curve of the toe will cause you problems even when you’re not putting pressure on it.
- It is important to see a medical professional as soon as a hammer toe becomes severe.
Treatment
Treatment for a hammer toe depends on the cause and severity of the symptoms.
- For hammer toes causes by wearing tight, ill-fitting shoes, just changing to the right kind of footwear helps.
- If a high foot arch is responsible, you can add an insole to your footwear.
- For bunions, corns, and calluses, over-the-counter creams and ointments do the job.
- Furthermore, you should not pop any blisters that could form on the toes.
- Popping a blister can lead to infection.
- Simply use over-the-counter ointments to deal with them.
- In severe cases of hammer toe, a medical professional will be bound to correct your toes through surgery.