Hammertoes

What is a Hammertoe "Crooked Toe"?

Causes: Hammertoe is a common foot deformity that occurs most often in women who wear high heels or shoes with a narrow toe box. These types of footwear may force your toes against the front of the shoe, causing an unnatural bending.

What is it? A hammertoe has an abnormal bend in the middle joint of a toe. Moving the affected toe may be difficult or painful. Corns and calluses can result from the toe rubbing against the inside of your shoes. These corns often present on the top of the toe or in between the toes(interspace).

Treatment: There are few conservative options for hammertoes. Over the counter corn pads may help alleviate the symptoms and allow you to perform your daily activities. Custom molded orthotics can help control the biomechanics of your feet which can slow down the progression of the hammertoe.


Surgery should be considered once all conservative options have failed and your daily activities are becoming affected. This can consist of releasing a small tendon to help straighten out your toe. Or removing a portion of the bone from the deformed knuckle.

Recovery varies between procedures and physicians but generally stitches are removed 2 weeks after surgery, regular shoe 2-4 weeks post procedure.

Let me know if you have any questions about hammertoes or any other condition involving the foot/ankle.

zbeth02@gmail.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shockwave therapy for Tendinitis--Is it right for you?

Image
ESWT What is Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy? Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy treatment is a highly effective treatment available for patients with chronic tendon disorders, and is used widely by Sports Physicians & Orthopaedic Surgeons.    Shockwave therapy is a non surgical treatment, and works by delivering impulses of energy(via sound waves), targeted to specific damaged tissues within the abnormal tendon. This increases the blood flow within the affected area, stimulating cell regeneration and healing, and decreasing local factors which can cause pain. How shockwave therapy works A probe is pressed on to the affected area and the shockwaves are delivered through the skin (a gel like substance is also applied to the area to promote the process)       The impulses are delivered through the skin as a shockwave that spreads inside the injured tissue as an aspherical ‘radial' wave. These radial shockwaves initiate
Read more

Pain in the back of the Heel--Insertional Achilles Tendinitis

Image
Insertional Achilles Tendinitis ​What is insertional Achilles tendinitis? Typically there is a triad-- Haglunds deformity (bone spur on back of heel), Insertional achilles tendinitis (inflammation along achilles at its insertion), and r etrocalcaneal bursitis (inflammation of bursa). What are the symptoms? Most patients report the gradual onset of pain and swelling at the Achilles tendon insertion into the back of the heel bone without specific injury. At first, the pain is noted after activity alone, but becomes more constant over time. The pain is made worse by jumping or running and especially with sports requiring short bursts of these activities. There is tenderness directly over the back of the heel bone and often there is a bone prominence at this area. Positioning the ankle above a 90 degree position is limited by pain. What causes insertional Achilles tendinitis? The cause is primarily a degeneration of the tendon. The average patient is in thei
Read more

What causes swollen ankles?

Image
Treatment of Swollen Legs(Varicose Veins)?   Venous insufficiency(most common cause of swollen legs) Swelling of the ankles and feet is often an early symptom of venous insufficiency, a condition in which blood inadequately moves up the veins from the legs and feet back to the heart. Normally, the veins keep blood flowing in the correct direction with the help of one-way valves. When valves become insufficient, they allow leaking of fluid from the vein to the soft tissues Chronic venous insufficiency can lead to skin changes, skin ulcers and infection. If you experience signs of venous insufficiency you should seek medical advice. Elevation Compression Topical treatments Treatment of secondary infection, when present Elevating the leg above the level of the heart decreases venous hypertension and edema, is appropriate for all patients, and should be done a minimum of
Read more