You can’t wear your favorite red heels comfortably without feeling excruciating pain on your toes. Not only is the pain uncomfortable, but also unbearable, almost distorting your walking style. If you are living in the environs of Colorado Springs hammer toe can be a thing of the past. Seeking the help of a qualified professional will help restore glory to your toes.
The Hammertoe
Hammertoes are painful deformities that mostly occur from the second, third, and fourth toe. You may tend to notice inflammation and redness on your toes. Additionally, you can also experience a hot sensation on the toe that won’t go away. A common sign for everyone with a hammertoe is experiencing pain when you wear tight shoes. It also becomes confusing and painful to move your toes. In extreme situations, you might develop open sores.
Common Causes
If you have a habit of wearing too-tight shoes that leave little room in the toe box area, shun away from them. Sometimes, you might come across a hard-to-find beautiful shoe that you just can’t let go, even when it is ill-fitting. However, with every learned habit, you can unlearn it. Always choose comfortable and well-fitting shoes.
Another common cause for experiencing a hammertoe is a muscle imbalance in your toes. The imbalance can be as a result of inflicting trauma on the toe or an underlying disease. Such diseases can include arthritis. As a result, the tendons in your toe area experience extreme pressure.
What Are The Risk Factors
Remember, having an underlying disease like arthritis causes imbalance to your toes. What does this mean? Most arthritis cases occur among the elderly. Therefore, it plays a significant part in the probability of developing a hammertoe.
On the other hand, women tend to experience more hammertoes than their male counterparts, mainly due to wearing high heels. Furthermore, the long toes you have, the higher your chances of developing a hammertoe. Toe injuries also tend to increase the probability of having a hammertoe.
Consult Your Doctor
Your doctor will evaluate you physically before giving you treatment. Additionally, you might also undergo an experiment to determine the extent of the damage to their tendons and tissues.
Your doctor can opt for padding and taping techniques after the first assessment. After that, you can resume normalcy without experiencing too much pain in your toes. Additionally, you may have to take anti-inflammatory medication together with cortisone injections to alleviate the pain and inflammation.
Wearing orthotic devices is also paramount, especially when the hammertoe is extensive. In extreme cases, your doctor can opt to perform surgery to remove the protrusion. Not to forget, orthotics prevents the formation of additional hammertoes.
You can avoid the occurrence of hammertoes by ensuring you wear comfortable and well-fitting shoes that don’t exert too much pressure on your toes. Shoes with a sharp toe box tend to increase your chances of developing hammertoes. However, if you, unfortunately, develop a hammertoe it is advisable to consult your doctor for the best treatment option.