HAMMERTOE specialists
WHEN YOUR TOES BEND OR CURL
Hammertoes are painful. They rub on your shoes, they get calluses, they feel funny when you walk, and just generally hurt. There are three joints involved in digital deformities. They are the metatarsal phalangeal joint(MPJ), proximal interphalangeal joint (PIPJ) and distal interphalangeal joint (DIPJ).
Don’t hide behind your shoes anymore!
Millions of Americans suffer from hammertoe, but only a small fraction of them seek medical attention.
The more you ignore it, the harder and more painful it is to correct.
If you have a hammertoe, call today or make an appointment online with expert podiatrists Dr. Darren Silvester and Dr. Gregory Larsen at Next Step Foot & Ankle Clinic. The San Antonio-area practice has two convenient offices in Universal City and Pleasanton, Texas, to restore your feet.
Take the next step toward happy feet and schedule today!
quick links:
Ask about our minimally invasive way we treat hammertoes!
hAMMERTOE
treatment options
Hammertoe procedures have to be carefully planned depending on which joints are involved and how severe the deformity are at those joints. Some deformities are flexible and some are rigid. This all has to be taken into consideration when considering what procedure is best to correct the deformity.
CHECK THIS OUT
conservative treatment options
At Next Step Foot & Ankle Clinic, your doctor examines your toes. He may order an X-ray of your foot to examine the bone structure further. The result of the examination determines the best course of treatment.
If your hammertoe is still in its early stages, firstly, your podiatrist may show you how to correct it, secondly, advises you on changing your shoes and thirdly, assists you on getting special pads to accommodate the shape and size of your foot. Lastly, he might prescribe a pain reliever and the use of an ice pack to relieve soreness and swelling.
Your doctor ensures that your treatment plan is personalized to your unique situation and relieves your pain and discomfort fast and efficiently.
01
SPLINTS
There are many different types of splints that help keep the toes straight. There was some you wear while sleeping an others in shoes. Some are designed to take pressure off certain areas of the toes to make them more comfortable.
Some are made to try and straighten the toes. They all are somewhat useful but become tedious quickly. There is no evidence that these straighten toes but they can make the toes more comfortable. Anecdotally, these splints to help straighten out hammertoes sometimes.
02
CHANGE YOUR SHOES
Orthotics change the way your foot interacts with the ground. It can make your foot more stable so that there is less gripping of the floor which contributes to hammertoe deformity for many patients.
At Next Step Foot and Ankle Clinic, we are the first to bring San Antonio and surrounding areas Custom 3D Orthotics with our FitStation by HP(Hewlett Packard), digitized for unparalleled accuracy.
Our FitStation provides thousands of data points on not only the pressure points of your foot standing still (like a cast would) and when your feet are in gait (a person’s manner of walking), giving the doctors a view of how your body as a whole is affecting each foot for your perfectly tailored fit.
Keep in mind, shoes that are narrow don’t work too well with orthotics.
03
DIABETIC SHOES
Diabetic shoes are a great option for people with toe deformities. You do not have to be diabetic to use the month course.
What they do provide is a very deep toe box. This provided significant room for toes that are crooked and takes a lot of pressure off the offending locations.
Additionally, it allows for the use of toe splints to accommodate these deformities if needed.
A few years ago most diabetic shoes were so ugly nobody would wear them, thankfully, that is not the case anymore. Diabetic shoes now come in a lot of very attractive styles.
04
PHYSICAL THERAPY
Sometimes, physical therapy is required to relax your tightened tissues, keep your joints flexible, and rebuild your strength. In a severe case of hammertoe where your toe is too stiff, you may need surgery to release the tightened structures.
advanced
minimially invasive
treatment & surgery
options
for hammertoes
CHECK THIS OUT
treatment & surgery options
Dr. Silvester and Dr. Larsen specialize in many advanced minimally and non-invasive treatments, and if necessary, advanced minimally invasive and traditional surgical techniques with patient proven success stories.
Some of those are used to treat your hammertoes, such as:
At the Next Step Foot and Ankle Clinic 95% of our hammertoe surgeries are performed with a minimally invasive technique. This involves the use of local anesthetic and a needle.
NO SCALPEL, NO BIG INCISION, NO LONG RECOVERY and can be performed in a few minutes, requiring only 2 days recovery.
This procedure is performed with a needle. A dressing is applied. The patient leaves the dressing on for 2 days. Once the patient removes the dressing they are generally able to wear regular shoes as long as they are not too tight. They return to normal activities for the most part. In some cases, the toes feel bruised for a few days. No pins or hardware are needed. Occasionally some splinting is necessary and very rarely, more traditional surgery may be necessary. The biggest advantage of minimally invasive hammertoe surgery, besides the much shorter recovery, is that we have observed a more natural appearance of the toe after surgery. The toe assumes its correct clinical alignment in most cases. Your toes just look normal. No scar is seen. The length of the toe remains the same. This usually results in a very cosmetically pleasing appearance.
Rarely bone work may be needed. If such is the case that can also be done with minimally invasive techniques. The recovery is a little longer because you have to wait for bones to heal. But the recovery of a minimally invasive technique is still usually quicker than traditional hammer toe surgery.
Don't let those pesky hammertoes stop you from living your best life!
CHECK THIS OUT
What Our Patients
Say About Us
For more Google reviews, click here.
Take the next step
to happy feet!
Click the links to request your appointment or learn more about what Next Step Foot & Ankle Clinic can do for you.
