You may have hammertoes if you’ve noticed a bend in your toes that won’t go away.
Your toes may be working extra hard to compensate for a tight Achilles tendon causing you to grip the ground as you walk. Over time the toes become contracted. Hammertoe is a general term. A true hammertoe has a bend at the middle joint of the toe. If the bend appears in the joint near your toenail, we call this a mallet toe. This condition can occur with any of your toes, most commonly the second toe, the toe next to the big toe. The third toe, also known as the middle toe will often have a painful callus at the tip of the toe when the Achilles tendon is tight.
Conservative Treatment
There are several conservative treatment options to relieve painful hammertoes:
Wider shoes with a deep toe box with Lycra that stretches.
Hammertoe splints
Silicone sleeves to decrease friction to the toe
Custom molded orthotics to rebalance the foot
Achilles tendon stretching to improve ankle joint range of motion
Two of our favorite products:
Feltastic Hammer Toe Cushion- The cushion can be worn with socks and shoes.
Correct Toes- We recommend wearing the device in the evening for an hour to start. We think of it as a reset for your toes. The device can we worn with a shoe with a deep wide toe box.
In-Office procedure - Pain Relief for Hammertoes
If conservative measures fail to alleviate pain, Dr. Kurlanski offers an in-office minimally invasive procedure, a percutaneous flexor tenotomy. This is one of Dr. Kurlanski's favorite procedures because the results are immediate. If you have an ulcer or callus on the end of the toe the wound usually resolves in 1-2 weeks. Dr. Kurlanski numbs the toe with a local anesthetic making the 5 minute procedure painless. The patient leaves the office with a light bandage and a stiff soled shoe. Best of all, because we do not send you to the operating room, you don’t have to worry about serious complications.
The results are dramatic: the toe that once curled will now be straighter with less pressure to the end of the toe. After this procedure, your toe will still have a soft bend when sitting. However, after the flexor tenotomy, the toe will flatten when you stand on it. You may notice the toes next to it are contracted. We may need to do the same procedure on the contracted toes in the future.
If you or someone you know has pain in their feet or ankles Dr. Michele Kurlanski is here to help. Call us today at (207) 774-0028 to schedule your next appointment at our location in Scarborough, Maine!