Hammertoes: How to Prevent from Getting Worse?
Hammertoes are a foot condition that gets its name because it forces your joint to stay upward, making your toe look like a hammer. It’s easy to miss early signs of hammertoes; as time passes, this deformity worsens without treatment.
The bad news is hammertoes can trigger other painful foot conditions, like corns, or cause generalized pain and discomfort in your toes. Plus, it can make it impossible to wear your favorite shoes or stay on your feet.
But the good news is that Dr. Esther Lyon, DPM specializes in helping people with hammertoes find relief. Take a moment to learn what causes hammertoes and the different treatment options available to help.
Understanding the causes of hammertoes
Twenty-eight joints connect your toe bones to your feets’ tendons, muscles, and ligaments. It’s easy to develop imbalances in the muscles of your toes based on the way you walk.
When this happens, it can cause different problems with your feet—including hammertoe. With weak muscles, your feet sustain more pressure, which can push on the joints.
Over time, your toe joint can become frozen in an upward position. This makes your toes rise at the joint instead of resting flat with your foot, causing your toe to look like a hammer.
People can get hammertoes for different reasons. Being female and getting older increases your risk of developing the condition, as do several other factors, such as:
- Having a family history of hammertoes
- Having a second toe that’s longer than your big toe
- Undergoing trauma or injury to your toe
- Having certain diseases, such as diabetes or arthritis
- Regularly wearing high heels
- Regularly wearing shoes with a narrow-toe box
If you suspect you have hammertoe, don’t wait to seek help from a podiatrist. Hammertoes won’t get better on its own, and over time it can worsen, making it more challenging to treat.
Preventing and treating hammertoes
- Wearing custom orthotics for better support
- Wearing a splint or taping the hammertoe
- Foot and toe exercises to improve strength and balance
- Wearing shoes appropriate for feet with hammertoe
Don’t wait to seek help for hammertoe!
Schedule an appointment online or over the phone 224-448-7060 with Dr. Esther Lyon, DPM at Foot & Ankle Clinics, LLC in Elgin, Illinois.
We see patients from all around the Chicagoland area: Elgin, Streamwood, Schaumburg, Bartlett, St. Charles, West Chicago, Wayne, South Elgin, Carpentersville, Pingree Grove, Gilberts, Spaulding, Hanover Park, Algonquin, Huntley, Hampshire, Burlington, Lakewood, Hoffman Estates, Rolling Meadows, Arlington Heights, Crystal Lake, Huntley, Woodstock.