thepoliblog

Bunion and Hammer Toe

                                  Bunion and Hammer Toe, thepoliblog.WordPress.com

Some bunions cause a hammer toe. The photo above shows a bunion bulging toward the left. The bunion causes the big toe to veer in the opposite direction, forcing the next toe to climb on top of the big toe, forming a hammer toe.

When walking, the hammer toe can cause intense pain in the ball of the affected foot.

By accident, I came upon a simple fix: Each morning, before putting a shoe on the affected foot, push the hammer toe to its proper undeformed position. Whether or not the toe stays there, that temporary relocation will relieve much of the stress on the foot, and you will be able to walk all day as if there were no hammer toe.

The easiest way to do this is use the heel of the other foot to gently press down the hammer toe.

The single-toe and multi-toe foam restraints that are sold commercially did not work as well as this simple expedient.