Pain and mobility
Hammer and claw toes
When a toe buckles at the joint it stops sitting flat, and the knuckle that now stands proud rubs on the inside of a shoe. The corn on top is the complaint. The toe underneath it is the cause.
Treatment Summary
How long
30 minutes
What it costs
£35
No new patient fee.
Getting in
Free parking at the Tesco next door, under a minute's walk.
What we do
Does it hurt
No. Taking down the corn or hard skin on a buckled toe is painless — there is no feeling in it — and it is usually an immediate relief. We tell you before we touch anything that is already sore.
A short line in a patient's own words goes here, once we have a real one to use.
Placeholder — name and town go here.
How to tell a buckled toe from a stiff one.
A toe that has drifted but still straightens with a gentle push is a different situation from one that has set. Both are manageable, but only one of them can be improved by anything other than protection.
One toe beginning to buckle at the joint — at Complete Chiropody and Podiatry in Chester-le-Street
Fixed hammer toes with corns on the knuckles — at Complete Chiropody and Podiatry in Chester-le-Street
Severe claw toes curled under with hard skin — at Complete Chiropody and Podiatry in Chester-le-Street
Treatment Information
What we do about it.
01
We check whether the toe still moves
If the joint straightens with a gentle push, padding and footwear can do real work. If it has set, we protect it rather than pretending we can straighten it. Either way you get told which one it is.
02
We deal with the corn
The corn on top of the knuckle, or the one under the tip, is what actually hurts. It comes off in the appointment and the relief is immediate, though it will rebuild while the rubbing continues.
03
We stop the rubbing
A silicone prop under the toe, a crest pad, or a small tube over the knuckle takes the contact away. These are cheap and they last, and getting the right one in the right place is most of the skill.
04
We get the shoe right
Depth matters here more than width. A shoe with a deep and soft toe box takes the pressure off the top of the toe, and it does more than anything else on this list.
What you can do at home
Get it looked at sooner if…
A break in the skin over a bony toe is how a small problem becomes a serious one, particularly with diabetes. Ring us rather than waiting for a routine appointment.
Online booking opens soon
Our appointment diary is not open just yet. Leave your details and be the first to know when it opens, so you can pick a time that suits you, evenings and weekends included.
Diary opening soonOr ring 07838 652554 and we will find you a time.
Rather talk to someone?
Ring during opening hours and you will speak to a person. Home visits are arranged this way.
The lesser toe deformities are distinguished by which joints are involved: hammer toe is flexion at the proximal interphalangeal joint with the distal joint neutral or extended; claw toe adds extension at the metatarsophalangeal joint with flexion at both interphalangeal joints; mallet toe is isolated distal interphalangeal flexion. Each is described as flexible or fixed depending on whether the deformity reduces passively, and management follows from that. Common drivers are intrinsic muscle imbalance, a long second ray, hallux valgus crowding the second toe, and plantar plate attenuation. Bilateral claw toes with a cavus foot warrant a neurological thought rather than a padding. Conservative care is debridement of the interphalangeal or apical corn, silicone orthodigital devices to redistribute pressure, and footwear with adequate toe box depth. Surgical options are flexor tenotomy, arthroplasty or arthrodesis and belong with a foot and ankle surgeon.
Questions
Things people ask about buckled toes.
Not by padding or exercises once it has set. While it is still flexible, propping it and changing the shoe keeps it comfortable and slows it setting further. A fixed toe is straightened surgically or not at all.
Because the knuckle is still rubbing on the shoe. Taking the corn off treats today. Padding and depth in the shoe treat next month.
The silicone props we fit are, when they are the right shape and in the right position. The general ones sold in packets sometimes help and sometimes create a new pressure point, which is worth knowing before you buy a bagful.
Often the second toe is, yes. A big toe drifting across crowds the toe beside it and pushes it up. That is why we look at the whole forefoot rather than the one sore toe.
Only if it stays painful despite padding and proper shoes. Plenty of people with quite marked toe deformities are perfectly comfortable once the pressure points are managed.
Still have a question?
Ask it here and we will come back to you by email, usually the same working day. If it is urgent, calling is quicker.
Online booking opens soon
Our appointment diary is not open just yet. Leave your details and be the first to know when it opens, so you can pick a time that suits you, evenings and weekends included.
Diary opening soonOr ring 07838 652554 and we will find you a time.
Rather talk to someone?
Ring during opening hours and you will speak to a person. Home visits are arranged this way.
Hammer and claw toes
treatment in Chester-le-Street
Our clinic is in Chester-le-Street, right next to Tesco, so parking is free and it is less than a minute's walk from the car park to our door. We also see people from the towns and villages around it, and visit at home across the same area.