What are the symptoms and causes of Hammer’s toe and Mallet Toe?

Are you troubled with pain in the toes? Do you feel your toes are jammed in your shoes and cause excruciating pain? How often have you noticed the curling up of toes and felt something is amiss? Do not let it go unnoticed you are suffering from an anomaly of the phalanges. Pressure due to incorrect footwear leads to disproportionate phalanges of toes. Improper footwear, sudden stress, and irregular bone formation are instrumental in causing hammertoe and mallet toe.

The bending of the toe, especially the mid joint of the toes. The toes next to the hallux are usually affected. The pointer toe, the middle, and the ring toe are slightly deformed.

The toe can be healed by avoiding uncomfortable footwear and avoid extreme pressure on the toes due to compressed footwear for long hours. If this does not help relieve the distress he or she may have to undergo minor surgery or use appropriate medical products online. 

Symptoms

A hammertoe is the curling up of the toes. The toe shape grows crookedly curling downwards and shaped like the hammer. The toes are unable to straighten out and cause terrible pain. The use of the wrong kind of footwear causes continuous rubbing of toes irritating the skin. The consequence is hardened skin with unbearable pain.  

Causes

Hammertoe and mallet toe are the consequences if the following points are not followed-

Improper footwear – Stilettos, ill-fitting shoes are the primary cause of this deformity of the toes. Cramped-up feet needing more breathing space and tight shoes are the underlying reasons for the curling of the toes. They appear like a hammer or mallet. 

Injured toe- A toe damaged due to awkward walking, a missed step, or fractured toe are the likely factors for weakened phalanges.
Weakened muscles of the toe are an indication of a medical ailment. 

Risk factors

Reasons for heightened abnormalities of the toe

Age- The disease increases in the advancing years of life. As the muscle weakens with age and toughens it sometimes could lead to hammertoe.

Women- The disease is likely to be experienced by women. Women purchase stilettos and cramped shoes.
 
Length of toe– Due to some unknown causes the second toe is longer than the hallux (big toe) cramping of toes causes the toe to curl up in the shape of a hammer and cause severe pain.

Other underlying ailments-Issues of high-level of sugar in the body or early degeneration of bones could also be the likely reasons for Hammer toe. Genetically inherited diseases are reasons for suffering from mallet toe. 

Complications

In the early stages of the abnormal-growth, the toe may look harmless as time goes by it could turn serious. If proper care and rectification of ill-fitting footwear are not the quick responses it could lead to suffering and pain. The muscles lose their strength gradually and lose shape making it curl up. The curled toes can suffer from hardened skin and an irritating pain will be felt constantly. The mallet toes will be hurt continuously due to friction and an unbearable ache will leave you irritable.

Prevention

Valuable advice to keep in mind to avoid foot diseases related to inappropriate footwear.

Right footwear-Always purchase correct medical supply or shoes where the toes have breathing space. There should be enough room for wiggling the toes. Avoid narrowed down shoes near the toes. Pointed shape footwear causes hammertoe and mallet toe.

Choose low-heels- Stay away from stiletto heels from an early age. Purchase low-heeled comfortable shoes and avoid early backaches, spine-related problems, and abnormal growth of the toes.

Well-patterned shoes- Footwear designs having appropriate space for the wiggling of toes are ideal picks and wise choices. The choice of proper footwear or medical products online will help you avoid unnecessary suffering from hammertoe and mallet toe.
 
Additional suggestions to be observed while purchasing shoes-

1.Always purchase shoes in the evening. The perfect fit for shoes is when the feet swell up at the end of the day. Your shoe will fit perfectly and unlikely chances of weakened cramped toes.

2.Always check the size of the foot before making any purchases. The foot grows steadily, neglecting these factors could end you up with an irritating pain in the foot.

3. Always prefer a good pair of shoes where the toes are well spread out and not jammed or cramped. The appropriate choice of footwear will help you stay away from additional problems and worry about the feet. Always remember the correct footwear will help you avoid hammertoe and mallet toe.