If you are going in for treatment for a hammertoe and looking into your options, there are both surgical and non-surgical options available. Your podiatrist can explain the options that will work best for your specific instance. Many people are understandably nervous when they hear that their condition may require surgery. Although most foot surgeries are very safe with little to no cause for concern, this article provides some nonsurgical options for correcting hammertoes. There are several ways to treat a hammertoe without surgery.
What Causes Hammertoes?
Hammertoes are often caused by ill-fitting shoes or other situations where toes are squished together and unable to move properly. It typically affects the middle three toes and bends or curls them downwards or into each other. If you avoid wearing shoes that are narrow in the toe box or pointy-toed, you may be able to prevent contracting hammertoes.
What Nonsurgical Methods Can Correct Hammertoes?
Best Foot Doctor in New York City (NYC) has a great deal of experience correcting hammertoes. The following four options may be helpful in correcting them without surgery.
- Physical therapy is one of the first treatment methods we recommend for hammertoes. Stretching and strengthening the muscles is a great way to correct this condition without surgery.
- Wearing well-fitting shoes can help correct hammertoes by allowing toes to move and flex as you walk. Shoes that are tight-fitting or have a too-small toe box will often cause or aggravate hammertoes.
- Best Foot Doctor often recommends corrective orthotic inserts to help with hammertoes. These inserts can be put in shoes and help realign the muscles in the feet and legs to help alleviate the condition.
- If hammertoes are significantly bent, applying splints or tape to the affected toe may prevent further injury and help align the toes back into place.
What If Nonsurgical Treatments Don’t Work?
If your hammertoes do not improve by the treatments listed above, your podiatrist can help you understand any other treatment methods that may be worth trying. If you require surgery, you can rest assured that our podiatrist staff are highly-experienced and will take good care of you. Hammertoe surgery is a fairly straightforward surgery and podiatrists take years of schooling and residency to be able to perform surgery. Normally, surgery is only required when hammertoes are no longer flexible and cannot be corrected with splints, orthotics, and other nonsurgical methods.
How to Find a Hammertoe Doctor in New York City (NYC)
If you are in the New York City (NYC) area, the Best Foot Doctor offices are located in Queens, Manhattan, and Brooklyn. Give our offices a call today to schedule an appointment to talk to our staff about the different ways to treat a hammertoe without surgery as well as any concerns you may have about correcting hammertoes.