Musculoskeletal system >>>> Deformation of the toes

Deformation of the toes.

Spending most of his life on his feet, a person constantly loads the lower limbs: he lifts and carries weights, wears tight shoes, changes his gait with uncomfortable heels. The foot often experiences loads of such a level for which it is not adapted, which leads to deformations of the phalanges and the articular apparatus of the toes.

Deformities of the toes are associated with many factors and can differ depending on which structure of the phalanx is damaged. There are the following types of deformity of the toes:

Hammer-like curvature of the phalanges of the toes,
Claw-like curvature of the phalanges of the toes,
Crossed toes,
Hallux valgus,
Taylor's deformity - a curvature of the fifth toe.

Hammer-like curvature of the phalanges of the toes , in which the toes acquire a permanently bent position, occurs mainly as a result of wearing shoes that are smaller than the length of the toes, with violations of the degree of tension of the flexor ligament of the phalangeal joints. Hammer-like deformity of the toes often develops against the background of other painful conditions of the foot: transverse flat feet, arthritis of the joints, injuries to the toes (dislocations, fractures), paralysis of the muscle structures of the foot. This kind of deformation can be fixed if the toes cannot be extended manually, or non-fixed if the toes can be extended.

Treatment of hammer-like deformity is successful if you seek help from an orthopedist as soon as possible. For treatment, special exercises are used to stimulate the extension of the toes, massage is carried out and comfortable shoes are selected, if necessary, the position of the foot in the shoe is corrected with the help of orthopedic insoles, retainers, and toe straighteners. Fixed chronic hammer deformity is treated with surgery.

Claw-like curvature of the toes occurs in connection with the wearing of narrow, tight shoes, diseases affecting the bone and muscle structure of the phalanges of the toes, as well as diseases affecting the innervation of the toes. Toe trauma can result in claw deformity.

Treatment of claw-like deformity of the toes has two ways:

Conservative treatment - changing the shape of the shoe toe to the widest possible, choosing soft shoes, which will create an opportunity for the correct and free positioning of the phalanges of the toes, as well as the use of medical orthopedic devices for extending the toes (splint, comb, cap, ring);
Surgical treatment corrects the tendon apparatus of the phalanges of the toes. For the reconstruction of the phalanges of the toes, there is a minimally invasive surgical method for correcting the deformity of the toes by puncturing with a special instrument (without incisions and long-term healing).

Crossed toes result from the development of transverse flat feet, hallux valgus, or arthritis. Crossed toes can occur as a result of wearing shoes with too narrow toes.

Treatment for a deformity such as crossed toes should begin with wide and high toed shoes to create room for the toes and relieve pressure from one toe on the other. To straighten crossed toes, special orthopedic straighteners and interdigital inserts are used. In difficult old cases, when the mobility of the joints of the toes is impaired, surgical treatment is used.

Hallux valgus causes the formation of a bone in the metatarsophalangeal joint of the big toe, which leads to disruption and pain when bending the foot while walking. The disease can progress, increasing the deformation, and cause inflammation in the joint of the big toe. The causes of this kind of pathology can be disturbances in the work of the abductor muscles, a change in the degree of tension of the muscles attached to the thumb, as a result of developing flat feet. Often, hallux valgus is exacerbated by wearing shoes with very narrow toes and high heels.

Treatment of hallux valgus is usually carried out by surgical correction of the position of the bones of the thumb and ligamentous apparatus.

Taylor's deformity (or deformity of the fifth metatarsal bone of the foot, deformity of the little toe) develops as a result of the turn of the foot inward while sitting in such a way that it rests sideways (fifth toe). As a result of this misalignment of the foot in the area of the fifth toe, a bony growth (lump) is formed.

The deformity of the little toe is treated by picking up loose shoes, changing the usual pathological rotations of the foot while sitting to a physiologically correct position, and surgery to correct the deformed phalanx of the little toe.

Deformities of the toes can not only cause inconvenience when walking, cause pain, prevent the ability to stand "on tiptoe", but eventually lead to serious complications in the form of arthrosis, bursitis, the appearance of corns and calluses that impede walking. Deformities of the toes violate the geometry of the skeleton of the foot, which often cause spasms and сonvulsions in the muscle structures of the foot and ankle.