![]() If you’ve got a hammertoe, mallet toe, or claw toe, treatment may or may not be necessary. Only the joint closest to the tip of your toe is affected.īoth joints are affected when you’ve got claw tow, and your entire toe curls downward toward the floor like an animal’s claw. ![]() With a mallet toe, the tip of the toe points downward without involvement of the middle joint. The middle joint pops up, while the tip of the toe points downward. The only difference has to do with the joint or joints being affected.Ī hammertoe has an abnormal bend at the middle joint. The board-certified podiatrists at Affiliated Foot & Ankle Center - Samantha Boyd, DPM, Hal Ornstein, DPM, Dan Phan, DPM, and Joseph Saka, DPM - point out that there are 3 common ways toes can become deformed. That’s when you’ve got a toe deformity that may need a doctor’s care. Toes can curl gradually over time due to faulty mechanics, pressure from poorly-fitting shoes, diabetes, or injury. Blech, that was disgusting!īut toe-curling isn’t always provoked by a one-time event. Our shoulders lift, our face screws up into a grimace and our toes curl up in our shoes. Most of the time, babies who had clubfoot and received treatment are able to lead active lives as they get older.We’ll bet you’ve witnessed some toe-curling events in life - something surprising, unexpected, perhaps a bit scary or gross. In rare cases, clubfoot is not completely correctable. Your doctor may also prescribe special shoes and a brace for your baby once the cast is removed. The surgeon (usually an orthopedic surgeon) will work to lengthen the tendons in the foot and may also need to realign the bones and joints.įollowing surgery, your baby will likely also wear a cast for a few months. When clubfoot is severe, surgery is often the best option for your baby. You’ll also need to continue doing stretching exercises with your baby. It could be several months or even a few years. They won’t have to wear these things forever. Once the final cast is off, your baby will probably need to wear special shoes and possibly a brace. If this is required, the doctor will do the clipping before putting on your baby’s final cast. Doing so will allow the tendon to grow to a normal length. Sometimes, the doctor will also need to clip a portion of the Achilles tendon that connects your baby’s heel to his or her calf muscle. This will continue until the foot is fully in the correct position (usually several months). Every week or so, the doctor will remove the cast, stretch the foot further toward the correct position, and re-cast it. Your doctor (or orthopedic specialist) will stretch your baby’s foot toward the correct position and then place a cast on it to hold it there. With this method, stretching is used in combination with a cast. This is the best and easiest time to reshape the foot. Treatment usually begins as soon as possible after birth, typically within the first week. The most widely used is called the Ponseti method. There are a few reliable techniques for treating clubfoot with stretching. Most cases of clubfoot can be successfully treated without surgery.įor the majority of babies, stretching and reshaping the foot is the best treatment option. One way involves stretching to reshape the foot. There are two primary ways to treat clubfoot. Children who do not get treatment for clubfoot will not be able to walk normally. After correction, your child should be able to participate in a variety of physical activities and lead a normal life. There is a high success rate for treating clubfoot. Correction methods vary from manual foot manipulation over time to surgically fixing the foot. Treatment should begin a week or two after birth. Most of the time, clubfoot can be corrected while your child is a still a baby. Know that having clubfoot is not a painful condition for your baby. In a small percentage of births, it occurs as part of a more serious condition like spina bifida. Usually, a baby born with a clubfoot is otherwise healthy with no additional health problems. In fact, boys are twice as likely to be born with clubfoot. It occurs in about 1 in every 1,000 babies born in the U.S. These tight tendons cause the foot to twist out of shape.Ĭlubfoot is one of the most common congenital birth defects. In babies who have clubfoot, the tendons that connect their leg muscles to their heel are too short. It can be mild or severe and occur in one or both feet. Clubfoot is a congenital condition (present at birth) that causes a baby’s foot to turn inward or downward.
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