A straight answer on the cause of crooked toes.
We all have an area on our bodies that we’re self-conscious about — and even though you’ve probably heard the “all bodies are beautiful” cliché, that doesn’t mean that your insecurities just disappear. For some, it’s the way their thighs rub together or the way their arms look in a tank top. For others, it’s that one weird-looking toe. You know the one. Maybe your middle toe is longer than all the others, or your pinky toe is oddly stumpy. Or maybe one toe bends away from the rest like it’s trying to escape your foot.
Just like any other part of your body, toes change. Maybe yours looked normal at one point, and then over a couple of years, you noticed it starting to shift. Suddenly, it’s poking out the side of your favorite pair of sandals, making you appreciate the invention of closed-toe shoes more than ever.
Beyond just looking less appealing, crooked toes can have a real impact on your health and mobility. “It’s about more than just cosmetics — toes serve a very important function in your overall ability to walk and move,” James Holmes, MD, tells Katie Couric Media.
But don’t worry, crooked toes are extremely common, and in the majority of cases, easily treatable by some changes to your routine. One thing to note is that crooked toes will not be put in a box — they come in lots of different variations. Here are some different types of crooked toes, their causes, and some possible treatments.
What are the common crooked toe types?
Crooked toes can take a couple of different forms, but the most common is hammertoes. In this condition, the toe — typically your second or third toe — is bent at the middle joint.
Similar to the hammertoe, the mallet toe also has an unusual bend, but it happens in the third joint closest to the toenail rather than in the middle. Then there’s what’s known as the claw toe, where your toes bend toward or even dig into the bottom of your foot.
Another common ailment is overlapping and underlapping toes that rest above or underneath adjacent ones. Curly toes, on the other hand, bend both down and sideways into a curled position.
What are some of the symptoms of crooked toes?
Initially, you might find wearing shoes particularly painful. (Dr. Holmes says patients often describe feeling like they’re walking around with tiny rocks in their shoes.)
Then as these deformities worsen, you may start to notice the growth of thick layers of skin known as corns and calluses around your disfigured joints, because they rub against your shoes or the ground.
In more severe cases, people may experience redness, swelling, and inflammation. Though rare, claw and hammertoes toes may cause open sores due to increased tension on the skin over the bent joint.
What these various toe deformities have in common is they can make it incredibly difficult to bend your toes, making basic movements difficult, if not eventually impossible.
What causes crooked toes?
Before you start throwing out all your shoes and swearing off stairs, let’s identify the possible causes of your… fancy feet.
High heels are often to blame for this condition — add that to the long list of reasons not to wear them — which explains why women are considered to be more at risk for hammertoe and other toe abnormalities. This is because pumps are often engineered in a way that leaves little room for toes to lie flat in the front.
But Dr. Holmes says the reality is that any too-small shoe can cause an imbalance in your toe muscles. Many adults don’t get their feet properly measured later in life, so their shoes are too often not the right size and this is especially true for women. He estimates that moms tend to jump “at least half a size larger” in shoes after having their first child, due to the influx of hormones.
“Hormones are secreted near childbirth and while they can be effective for helping the pelvis become more relaxed for childbirth, they’re not always selective and they can act on all the ligaments, including your arch ligaments, causing them to get longer,” he tells us. (Maybe it’s time to step onto one of those foot-measuring contraptions you played with in the shoe store as a kid, to ensure you’re working with the right length shoe.)
Genetics can play a role, too. The type of feet you’re born with can make you more predisposed to developing various toe deformities. For instance, if you have especially flat feet or high arches, you’re more likely to get hammertoes, because both can put extra pressure on the tendons and joints, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
You might also be more at risk if you’ve experienced some kind of injury or trauma. Dr. Holmes says a toe that has been jammed, dislocated, or broken might be more likely to develop a hammertoe or mallet toe. Suddenly, stubbing your toe seems like much more than a fleeting ache.
Can you fix crooked toes?
In some cases, crooked toes can be addressed by making some simple lifestyle changes.
The first step (pun intended) is choosing your footwear wisely. Ideally, Dr. Holmes recommends a pair that’s roomy and “distributes your weight evenly across the bottom of your foot,” like sneakers. If you don’t want to give up your favorite pumps, he recommends a pair that has shorter and thicker heels.
On top of choosing more supportive shoes, it’s important to exercise your foot and stretch critical muscles to prevent certain toes from getting worse. This can be as simple as using your toes to pick up the pen on the floor instead of your hands or using them to crumple a paper towel or soft fabric. By doing these exercises regularly, you’re working your intrinsic muscles, which Dr. Holmes says are “critical to maintaining the balance of the toes in the foot.”
You might want to skip the salon and stick to an at-home pedicure, adding in tools like splints and toe spacers, which won’t fix your crooked toes but might help alleviate any discomfort you feel while walking or sleeping. He also adds that shoe inserts and pads that you can find at your local pharmacy may not be a bad idea because they can provide additional cushioning and support.
But if your toes have become rigid, surgical treatments may be recommended, particularly if you’re experiencing pain and having problems getting around. Though medical approaches can vary from person to person, surgery may involve cutting or removing a small section of the toe joint and rotating the toe into a straight position.
Most of the patients that opt for surgery are women in their late 50s and 60s, but there’s no specific window for fixing permanently crooked and rigid toes. “By and large the operation and results are the same later versus earlier on, so there’s no real advantage in operating sooner,” says Dr. Holmes. In short, the timing is toe-tally up to you.
