Can Orthotics Correct My Hammertoe or Do I Need Surgery?

The term foot deformity sounds worse than it is, as this range of conditions happens to millions of people of any age for many reasons and is frequently mild enough that you don’t realize you have it. Changes in the shape or functionality of your foot can be congenital, happen due to disease, or develop over time from ill-fitting shoes or other factors.

Hammertoes are a common type of foot deformity that affects the joints of the toes, causing discomfort and making walking difficult. There are several ways to manage this problem, including surgical treatments. 

Can noninvasive methods, like orthotics, effectively treat it? Let’s examine how people get this foot deformity and determine the benefits of both solutions.

Drs. Ashkan Soleymani, Michael Salih, Arash Jalil, Saman Tabari, and the dedicated team at Cedars Foot and Ankle Center are committed to ensuring the foot health of residents in Tarzana and Inglewood, California, by treating foot deformities such as hammertoes.

Facts about hammertoes

This foot condition forces your toes (usually the second, third, or fourth) to move out of their normal position, causing the toe joints to point upward instead of lying flat in their neutral state. The result is toes looking constantly bent because the tip of your toe points down, and the middle section curls up. 

There are three forms of this deformity:

• Flexible: the curl has formed in the toes, but you can still move and bend it

• Semi-rigid: bending and movement become harder to do after curling

• Rigid: toes stay frozen in a curled state and cannot be moved

This problem affects approximately 20% of patients who complain about foot and ankle issues. Aside from the visual signs, you may also experience pain, swelling, discoloration, corns, calluses, and difficulties moving your toes, depending on how advanced your condition is.

How orthotics can help

Foot orthotics support your feet and can correct issues that over-the-counter or custom inserts may not. For hammertoes, orthotics often include a toe splint that helps keep the toes straight and prevents curling.

This is an effective preventive measure, especially if other foot problems, such as bunions, are present, as it helps prevent the development of hammertoes from worsening and becoming rigid.

When surgery becomes necessary

Surgery becomes a viable option for treating hammertoes when conservative methods, such as orthotics, fail to stabilize the condition. They’re also used in the case of rigid hammertoes, where there is no movement in the joints at all. 

Depending on your specific needs, there are multiple surgical solutions:

Fusion

The ends of the bone in your toe joint are cut, and a pin or K-wire is inserted to straighten the toe, with the pin removed after the joint is fused. Recent advances in this surgery now employ a permanently implanted screw or rod.

Tendon transfer

Removing and replacing the tendons from the bottom of your toe can force the toe to straighten the affected joint.

Joint resection

When the toe becomes a fixed joint, the end of the bone is removed, and the toe is straightened by temporarily inserting pins.

For treatment of hammertoes and many other foot conditions, schedule an appointment with Drs. Soleymani, Salih, Talil, Jabari, and the Cedars Foot and Ankle Center team today.