If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
The correct sock can do amazing things for the feet, such as keeping them warm, dry, and blister-free. Yet they can’t change the way genetics or basic growth patterns. It seems from research that socks will only help keep feet comfortable; it’s shoes that may make an overall difference in toe deformities.
Hammer, claw, and mallet toes are toes that do not have the right shape. They may look odd and sometimes hurt. Muscles within the toe are to blame for the toe bending into an odd position at one or more joints. These problems almost always happen in the four smaller toes, not the big toe.
An Internet search on Yahoo Health and publications from The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons report that a hammer toe is a toe that bends toward the floor at the middle toe joint. It usually happens in the second toe. This causes the middle toe joint to rise up. Hammer toes often occur with bunions.
Claw toe often happens in the four smaller toes at the same time. The toes bend up at the joints where the toes and the foot meet. They bend down at both the middle joints and at the joints nearest the tip of the toes. This causes the toes to curl down toward the floor.
A mallet toe often happens in the second toe, but it may happen in the other toes as well. The toe bends down at the joint closest to the tip of the toe.
Talk to a doctor if you notice that your toe looks odd or hurts. Home treatment often helps, but if you do not treat the disfigured toe right away, you are more likely to need surgery. Toe problems develop over years and are common in adults. Women have more of these problems than men because shoes, such as high heels.
Tight shoes are the most common cause of these toe problems. Toe muscles to get out of balance. If a shoe forces a toe to stay in a bent position for a long period, muscles tighten and tendons shorten. Over time, the toe muscles cannot straighten the toe at any time.
These disfigured toes often rub against footwear, and shoes that fit could be hard to find. You can treat hammer, claw, and mallet toes by wearing footwear with lots of toe room, using pads, and supports in the shoe, and doing toe-stretching exercises. Doing these things could give the toe room to straighten, cushion the toe and hold it straight, and make the toe muscles stronger and more flexible.
Surgery is possible, but results are not readily published. Talk to your doctor about your specific problem.
Because people with hammer toe may have corns or calluses on the top or tip of the toe, wearing the proper sock is important. Wear socks that aren’t too tight and have ample room in the toe box of the shoe. Synthetic socks are good because of their wicking properties. Keeping skin problems dry will help them heal faster.
Changing the type of footwear worn is another important step, according to the Academy. Buy shoes with a toe box (toe area) that’s high and broad, and can accommodate the hammer toes. This should lessen friction against the toes. The goal is to relieve pressure, reduce friction, and transfer forces from the sensitive areas.
When worn with the correct type of shoes (with lots of room for toes), my personal experience has shown that wearing Toe Socks helps straighten the big toes when they are pointing inwards due to wearing pointy toe shoes . However, when we did research, we could not find a study verifying that for the general public. It is a cheap test to try - but try at your own risk.
Technorati Tags: Toe problems
Posted by blogger as Articles, Helpful Socks at 10:46 AM PDT