Hammertoes are a common foot deformity in which the toes bend downward at the middle joint. This gives the toes a claw or hammer-like appearance. Beyond aesthetic concerns about the appearance of the toes, this condition can also be painful. The toes may become stiff or immobile at the joints, cause pain during movement, become swollen, red, or inflamed, and make wearing shoes uncomfortable as the tops of the toes rub against the shoes, leading to corns and calluses.
Hammertoes are thought to be caused by a muscle imbalance in the toes, which puts increased pressure on the toe’s tendons and joints. This muscle imbalance may be caused by genetic differences in the structure of your foot, wearing shoes that are too tight, small, or narrow, have no arch support, or have excessively high heels, neuromuscular diseases, and injury to the toes.
Without treatment, hammertoes become progressively worse over time. Treatment for flexible hammertoes, which retain mobility at the joint, is usually conservative and may include making footwear modifications, wearing orthotics, taking medications to reduce pain and inflammation, and padding corns and calluses that have developed on the toes. Rigid hammertoes, which have caused the toes to become completely stiff and immobile at the joint, may require surgery to straighten them.
If you have hammertoes, please seek the care of a podiatrist.
Minimally Invasive Surgery
Minimally invasive surgery can mean smaller incisional approaches. Using minimally invasive techniques and surgeries provide our patients with many benefits over traditional treatments and surgeries. These benefits typically include:
- Significantly less pain over traditional surgery
- Walk the same day after surgery
- Faster return to work and normal activities
- Less damage to tissue
- Less scarring
- Less chance of infection and contamination
- Minimal need for pain medication
Minimally invasive surgery is mostly used for the following foot conditions:
- Bunions
- Hammertoes
- Flexible Flat Feet
- Heel Spurs or Haglund's Deformity
- Stiff toes due to arthritis joint
- Wounds on Feet or Toes
- And many more
Most of minimally invasive surgery is done in our innovative In-office surgical suite
- No need to travel to hospital and surgery center
- Convenient and cost effective
- Less chances of infection
Minimally invasive surgery is not for everyone. There are certain deformities that may require a different surgical approach. Feel free to contact our office for a consultation with Dr. Kim.
