# Hammer toes ?



## Sandpiper (Oct 28, 2008)

I got 'em.  Ugh.  Feets ain't purdy -- at all.  Sore / hurt.  I don't know that they're totally due to shoes I wear.  Haven't worn anything that could be called a dress shoe for many many years -- especially since retiring ten years ago.  Even later working years, shoes I wore were not pointed / too narrow in the toes.  I read that hammer toes can just develop.  The higher knuckle(s) can hurt when pressing / rubbing on top of a shoe.

Any kind of a thing you can buy to straighten out toe(s) over time?  Any special pad?  Anything to do about it?


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## hsuthard (Jan 6, 2010)

Move to Hawaii and wear slippers (flip flops) all the time!

Sorry, I don't have much experience. I do know that if I ever try to wear anything but slippers now, though, I get a blister.


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## Patricia (Dec 30, 2008)

I thought it was genetic.  When my son was a baby, the pediatrician said he had them.  I'd never heard of it.


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## Sandpiper (Oct 28, 2008)

hsuthard said:


> Move to Hawaii and wear slippers (flip flops) all the time!


I've never gotten used to that thing between my toes -- flip flops. I've had a pair of UGG Dakota slippers for 3 - 4 years. Comfort! Wear them a lot. Learned just recently that they can be worn outside in decent / dry weather. So I bought few more pairs. Have UGG boots from past few years. UGGs are comfortable. But I still got those raised toe knuckles that can get rubbed and sore from various shoes. What to do?

I _did_ have a pair of Birkenstocks that were very comfortable. But my feets are so ugly (including a birth-defect deformed toe) that I don't like to have them out for viewing. So, of course, I've never been a person to go barefoot, but imagine that would be . . . aaaaah.


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## hsuthard (Jan 6, 2010)

How about socks with those Birks? I have some cute Japanese socks I can wear with my flip flops if the weather warrants it and I look forward to pulling them out every winter. 


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

I only wear Birkenstock. There are many models where you don't have to show your feet. I have closed shoes I wear in winter. They just look like regular shoes, just a bit wider.  

Foot and knee problems run in my family and I also was diagnosed early on with things. Long time ago back in Germany I started wearing them based on doctors recommendations and so far I haven't had any problems. 

I would not have survived the years in retail without my Birkenstock. 

I don't know though what hammer toes are so I have no idea if they would help or not. They have helped me straighten the way I walk and helped my knees from going inward. 

When I was a teenager and early 20's, I used to wear tight shoes, and lots of high heels. I am glad I stopped that. Sneakers I can still wear for like workout, but I am always more comfortable in my Birkenstock. 

My mom on the other hand stopped wearing Birkenstock a long time ago and she got bunions like crazy. She says her feet hurt all the time. She insisted on wearing these tight shoes.


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## Sandpiper (Oct 28, 2008)

hsuthard said:


> How about socks with those Birks?


Yeah, there is that. Years ago I wore socks with Birks. Dang, thinking of one pair of Birks in particular that I wished I'd kept. Wonder if they'd still have the same style.


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## Sandpiper (Oct 28, 2008)

This isn't my foot. The second toe is a hammer toe. Maybe others also? And a bunion? At least I don't have that.


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## CoraBuhlert (Aug 7, 2011)

My Mom has hammer toes and got an operation on one of her feet. It was outpatient surgery, though she couldn't walk for two weeks or so. The foot and toe that were operated are now better, but the other foot is still weird and she doesn't want surgery again, unless it's really necessary.

My Mom blames are hammer toes on having worn shoes that were too small as a child during and after WWII. But sometimes I think these issues just run in the family. I've had weird feet all my life and I've always worn shoes that fit and are comfortable, i.e. nothing with pointy toes, high-heels, etc...


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## Sandpiper (Oct 28, 2008)

I've been looking.  FootSmart.com has a variety of products.  Then there's three similar products I think I may try -- Flex-tastic, Smart Toes, and Yoga Toes.  

I've read too that hammertoes can be hereditary.  I don't know if my mom had them, but I do remember during my childhood her using callus and corn pads, so I think she may have.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

That looks painful.  . 
When our feet aren't right and then we walk "funny" so to speak, other problems pop up. My mom got severe back and hip pain when she started having her toe issues. I think she had some of it fixed. I am not sure as I haven't seen her in many years. 
Everyone in my family pretty much has weird feet. I am just trying to keep them as good as I can to prevent other issues. Mine are really wide for some reason so that is why I like Birkenstock too. I think in the past I was wearing shoes that weren't wide enough. Instead going a size up. Whats strange is my feet don't look wide until I stand and walk. And I only know because I measured. I always thought I had regular width.


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## CoraBuhlert (Aug 7, 2011)

I started getting back pain because my left leg is 1.5 centimeters shorter than my right leg. I now get all my shoes altered to get the left heel raised by the missing 1.5 centimeters. With some shoes, I can also use a plastic pad.


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