Anyone else here with this frustrating side-effect of arthritis? Just curious. I realize it's just a tiny annoyance in the grand scheme of things, but it bothers my walking at work.

Ordering a splint-type device to hopefully keep the knuckle down out of the way of the top of my shoe. Grrrr. Both feet have them, and I thought it was a result of the fasciotomies on both feet several years ago. But right foot toe is progressing to where it sticks up too far. Anyone else have a non-surgical solution that's helped?

Ain't got a clue but hopefully someone here does. My big toe is fused and won't bend and it hurts off and on but i'd hate to have hammertoe. Good luck and Tulsa is having a rose show in may I'll probably be bloomed out then but we'll go any way just to support them. I'll let you know day it is take care my friend

Hi there
I think i have hammer toes on my right foot. sort of self diagnosed. I find wide fitting shoes work really well, the brand "keen" is known for there wide fitting shoes. I now tend to buy my shoes a size or 2 bigger as well. dosent do much good for the left foot but gives my right toes lots of room. also walking in barefeet helps me to.
ive heard you can get operations to take bone out of your toes and therefore straightening them. but dont now much about it.

I have one hammer toe on my right foot caused by rheumatoid arthritis. I also wear Keen!

I finally gave up with the OTC things (didn't work on 4th toes at all), saw the foot doc and agreed to do a flexor tenotomy, which was last week. Just today (on Day 12) am able to wear shoes since stitches are out, 1 for each toe. Most of the problems were wearing the surgery shoes and getting massive inflammation in calves of legs. Went back to work at Day 8 and 9, only to have to miss the rest of the week and go see my pain management doc (did my post-op pain meds) to get further help. She added a muscle relaxant and told me to stay home till I could wear normal shoes. Left 4th toe is flat and straight again. Right 4th toe is nearly straight and almost flat, but will be much better than before. Glad I did this before they were fused completely.

Hello rumble,

I hope you see this response, since you made this post a while ago; I haven't been around much for a while, so I just saw it today.

Oh my do I have hammertoes. Every toe on both feet are affected to some degree; the first three toes on each foot are the worst and are extremely deformed now. As a result, I can only wear a very limited selection of shoes that have what is called a large "toe box" area. The two best pairs I have are 1) a pair of Crocs canvas shoes in which I removed the large insole that the shoes are sold with and replaced them with good gel insoles I bought for $15 at Walgreens; and 2) a pair of specialty shoes I bought from my podiatrist that were actually designed to be worn by people with diabetes. They are a very nice pair of black dress shoes where almost the entire top part of the shoe is made of neoprene, which is the stuff that scuba diving suits are made of. Of course, this is a different grade of neoprene that is thinner than that used for diving suits, but otherwise it's the exact same stuff. It is incredibly lightweight, very smooth and soft to the touch, and very stretchy. The combination of all those characteristics means that even if my hammertoes do happen to touch the neoprene at the points where the toes are deformed in an upward manner, the shoes do not hurt my toes at all and thus the shoes are very comfortable to wear. As with the Crocs, I removed the insoles that came with the shoes and replaced them with my own gel insoles, which works very well. I was at my wits end when I found those shoes, as I was down to just one pair of shoes to wear, and those were custom-made shoes that cost me almost $300. That's not to say that the neoprene shoes were cheap--if I recall correctly, they were in the neighborhood of $120. Still, that's a LOT less than $300, and they were worth every penny. In addition, the company that makes those shoes--the name escapes me right now, but I can look it up--has a catalog that has several other pairs of shoes that feature a deeper, wider toe box that would also work for most folks with hammertoes. Seeing as I have hammertoes that are about as bad as you can get them, most folks could easily wear other shoes in the catalog. In fact, most folks will find it far easier to find shoes than I do once they know what to look for.

Let me know if you want any more info on this subject. If you have really, really bad hammertoes like I do and you're having a very hard time finding shoes, there are a few more tips I can share and a few places I can point you toward. Hope this helps.

Brad

I've already had the release surgery on the 4th toes. One is already rigid, but still fits in my sneakers, which is all I wear, other than the occasional jaunt on the motorcycle, when I wear boots. So far, those are the only toes affected, but I expect more to join, but I'll do the tendon release sooner, then. Thanks for the pointers, though. I'll keep this in mind.

Due to the AS (or whatever it is), I'm still having lots of foot pain, which is largely due to tight Achilles, which carries on down to the PF. IF Enbrel doesn't do the trick, I'm probably done with trying biologics (Remicade didn't do anything much), especially if another infection crops up. In that case, will have a long discussion with foot surgeon about possibility of doing gastroc slide on both legs, which COULD release a lot of the tension on the Achilles. Have to figure how much it could help the foot in the long run. Pain doc is doing wonders on my spine and SI pain, but she doesn't do feet.

lost track if you've considered LDN. maybe something to reconsider, especially if you go off the biologic (though drizzit has done both simultaneously).

i still get inflammation in my feet, but the LDN makes it go away so so so much faster than before i was on it.

i can be on my feet to the point that i literally can not walk, then off them for a day or two, and they're much better.

in the past it would be weeks to months and contrast baths several times a day and ultrasound, and stretches, and.......just to get back to ok, foot-wise.

now, its just LDN. and some stretching (and rolling a lacrosse ball around on the floor).

my feet may not be as bad as yours. or maybe i'm just usually not on them a whole lot. because when i am, whoa!

but LDN has really changed my foot problem. the podiatrist hardly ever sees me anymore.

just a thought.

I had surgery in my early 20's 8 broken toes broke in two places each with pins to keep them straight. took a couple years to get over that surgery. they aren't hammered anymore, just broken and crooked from stubbing, and a lively 80 pound dog right after surgery. laid up for weeks, and that made my back get jacked up.
life has been so good

I had never heard the expression "Hammer toe" so looked it up and have now found out that I have 2 Mallet Toes. 1 for each foot.

Gee I am learning something new everyday.:)

Cheers Carol