Act With Love Blog

We've all experienced a muscle cramp, sometimes known as a charley horse" (wonder where that term came from?), and can attest that cramps can be downright painful! Among the many disorders that can affect the foot of a horse are bone cysts, bruises, corns, cankers, and fractures.

Bunions pushing the second toe is another common cause. There are several types of treatment for claw toe, including surgery. The most effective treatment seems to be changing the type of footwear worn if no serious medical conditions exist. Some feet and toe problems arise from the type of shoe you choose to wear. Make sure that toe area (toe box) is broad and high offering enough space to accommodate the toes. This will reduce the friction and pressure against the toes.

In the late stages of progression, the big toe actually can overlap or underlap the second and cause reactive hammertoes (contracted) of the other toes. Often they have had pain in shoes and with activity for years when they finally come into the office. This is because many peolpe think they always require surgery for pain relief. Couple that with high heeled shoes or even just shoes that crowd your toes (listen up guys who wear cowboy boots!) and you are prone to the formation of bunions. Bunion symptoms are characterized by redness, swelling, grinding of the joint, burning pain, and occasional numbness. Diagnosis of a bunion is done by x-ray findings together with physical exam. A bump is not necessarily always Hallux Abducto Valgus, so a complete podiatric exam including x-rays should be done to evaluate your condition. Surgery should never be contemplated without pain and activity limitations.

I had the 20-minute operation in May under general anaesthetic, and wore a special shoe afterwards to protect my foot - it had an open front like a sandal to keep pressure off the toe. They can run in families - as a result of having unusually long foot bones - but patients with arthritis and bunions are most at risk because they walk differently, throwing more weight on the lesser toes, especially if a big toe with a bunion doesn't touch the ground. Any of the toes can develop into a hammer toe, but it's typically the second one.

If your hammertoe problem is diagnosed as flexible hammertoe, there are a number of nonsurgical treatments that may be able to straighten out your toe or toes and return them to their proper alignment. Your physician may pad the boney top-part of your hammertoe as a means of relieving pain, and may tape your toes as a way to change their position, correct the muscle imbalance and relieve the pressure that led to the hammertoe's development.