Hammertoe is a deformity of the joints of the small toes, but the toe next to the big toe is the most commonly affected. If your toes are stuck in a bent or abnormal position, you might have hammertoes.

Hammertoe results when the tendons and muscles that hold your toes in place become unbalanced, allowing the underside to tighten and curl up your toe. This causes the middle joint to bend sharply upward. It starts as a mild deformity that remains pliable, but gets worse over time and becomes stiff, trapped in place, and difficult to treat.

WHAT ARE HAMMERTOES?

What a weird name: Why hammertoes?? The toe bends and apparently to someone somewhere it resembles a hammer.  It does not look like a hammer to me but somebody thought it did so the name stuck.

There are three or four names for hammertoes. There are several names for contracted toes that describe which joints are contracted.

It really does not matter that much which joint is involved; they all can cause pain and difficulty with shoe gear.

Some studies estimate that hammertoes occur in 14% or people and in families with hammertoe genetic propensity is 61%.  They are also more common in females.

Several different factors cause the middle joint of any of your small toes to become flexed and bent upwards. Common causes include:

• Nerve damage
• Repeated wearing of high heels, tight shoes, or footwear with a pointed toe box
• A traumatic toe injury
• High foot arch
• Pressure from a bunion
• Tightened ligaments or tendons
• Abnormal balance of the toe muscles

Genetics probably causes most hammertoes, however, they can be made worse or more painful by ill fitting shoes.

Most hammertoes are also associated with some muscle imbalance with the flexor tendons over power the extensor tendons, therefore, the toes curl down.

Many researchers think bad shoes cause hammertoes. However, there is a big difference between CAUSE AND AGGRAVATING a hammertoe.

I suppose if you wore a tight shoe every day over a long period of time, and left them on at night the toes would become adapted to a hammertoe position much like Chinese foot binding. That would be a cause. But if you are barefoot or use sandals frequently then shoe likely is not the only cause of the hammertoes; they just aggravate the hammertoes. That being said, good well fitting shoes with good biomechanical control should certainly decrease the risk of getting a hammertoe. There is no long-term research on this that I could find.  However, when  appropriate support and shoe fit is applied the tendency to curl the toes decreases dramatically.

Yes. Your risks of developing hammertoe increases as you grow older. Other risk factors include:

• Family history of hammertoe
• Your second toe is longer than your big toe
• Certain diseases like arthritis and diabetes
• Having thickened layers of skin like calluses or corns