Dr. Bruce Fawcett, Podiatrist

Abnormal bending of the toe joints puts pressure on the end of the toe. This causes pain and trouble wearing shoes or getting shoes fitted. It can also cause thick, hard, painful callouses called corns on the top or end of the toes where extra pressure is applied. Normal softer callouses may occur between the toes and on the bottoms of the feet near toe joints.

The hammertoe abnormality is a slow developing deformity that progressively worsens. It can become so severe that the joints dislocate. This really causes pain to increase. It is important to treat this problem early while toes are flexible and will respond to none surgical methods.

It is thought that an imbalance in the flexor (those that bend the toes) and extensor (those that straighten the toes) muscles causes the hammertoe deformity. It is aggravated by a number of issues like improperly fitted shoes or by trauma or injures to the tendons or bones.

What kind of treatment your Podiatrist or Foot Doctor selects depends upon the severity of the hammertoe deformity along with other factors like your other health problems.
It will probably include trimming corns and callouses, padding, changes in shoe wear, and perhaps orthotic devices. Measures to treat or prevent worsening, heal sores and prevent infection will be very important. Sometimes strapping and splinting is necessary also.

Surgery may be necessary for rigidly deformed hammertoes. These are procedures called arthroplasty or arthrodesis. There are other procedures that may be employed to correct the muscle imbalance and relieve the pain and pressure caused by the hammertoe deformity.

If your toes a stiff and won't straighten, you may need a podiatrist to help you. If you live in the Triangle area of North Carolina, call Dr. Fawcett.

Ever get out of bed in the morning and experience a sharp intense pain in the heel of one or both feet? Usually it is bad for 10 or 15 steps and then slowly gets better the longer you are up. If you rest or sit for a while, the pain returns until you walk for a while again. It seems to get sorer after being on your feet all day. Over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen or aspirin seem to help some but don't take it away completely. Over time the symptoms become worse and are not relieved by rest or medication.

Sound Familiar?

Inflammation in the body is indicated by the suffix "itis". In the case of heel pain that occurs in the bottom or sole of the foot as I described above, the inflammation is in the plantar fascia. So, the condition is called Plantar fasciitis.

There are other causes for heel pain, so this is not to help you diagnose and treat your problem. This is intended to help you become better informed and able to ask better questions of your medical doctor or your foot doctor or podiatrist.

There are many factors contributing to this heel pain. Some of them are shoes with no support, prolonged standing, being overweight or obese, hard flat floors, flat arches, or very high arches. To treat this type of heel pain, the podiatrist has to eliminate other causes of pain, try to decide what caused this pain, and then fix the cause and treat the problem.

Therapies include Ice when resting, Stretching often through out the day, supportive footwear, limit activities on your feet, possibly medication by mouth or injected directly into the heel, weight loss and sometimes night splints, foot strapping, and ultrasonic therapy.

If you have tried conservative measures like stretching, ice, and ibuprofen without relief, you should get expert advice from someone like Dr. Fawcett.