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What percentage of people dealing with PN get hammertoes?
I’m wondering about the percentage of those dealing with peripheral Neuropathy that end up with hammertoes? Have you found non surgical ways to help? If you have had surgery, was once enough to correct them?
HI’ve dealt with PN for nearly fifteen years now. After a number of years I began to notice that my toes weren’t right. After asking my neurologist said that some patients see this. I had wished he had mentioned this when I was first diagnosed as I had to add several pairs of flat shoes to stay safe. I tried every suggestion people had for managing them but with minimal success. As the worsened I found that my toes were consistently rubbing on the top of my shoe (very painful). Over a period of two years I was able to have the middle three toes on each foot corrected. Approximately six months later I saw my big toes begin to hammer. I’ve not ever heard of anyone having this happen. In fact, nothing comes up on Google if you look for it. As at this time I’ve been able to have two additional surgeries for them but am beginning to have some issues with the original three on each foot. I’m not panicking just yet, however, I’ve renewed my friendship with moleskin. I’m going to hold off doing anything for now but need to watch them as I have an autoimmune disease which adversely affects my small blood vessels-my circulation. Doctors are often cautious about doing surgery on older people which I also have going against me.
As I initially said, I’d be grateful for any advice that someone might have. Thanks!
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Hello @llm54, I've had hammer toes for most of my adult life but they weren't quite as bad earlier. I have idiopathic small fiber PN and when I was diagnosed, my Mayo neurologist took a picture of my hammer toes for an upcoming seminar he was giving on neuropathy. I think he mentioned it's typical for a lot of people with neuropathy. Not sure you could pin it down to a percentage simply because there are a lot of other causes including wearing narrow shoes which I'm sure I did when I was growing up. Didn't get new shoes that often and they always seemed to small. Now I always buy shoes with a wide toe box and roomy tops.
There are a few other discussions and comments on hammer toes from other members that you might find helpful. Here's a link that lists the discussions and comments - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/search/?search=hammertoes.
I had thought about surgery to correct them last year at age 80 and met with a Mayo foot surgeon but was told they wouldn't recommend it in my case due to no sores or damage on the top of the toes and the possibility of making things worse.
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2 ReactionsMy orthopedic surgeon recommended I put corn pads on top of my toes. Mine blister and almost had to have my toe amputated. My toe got infected in January still red and swollen. My neuropathy is autoimmune and he told me it’s a common problem.
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2 ReactionsWow- another problem I have that I know see is part of the panoply of PN effects. Ugh. I have one hammertoe that I tried so hard to prevent as it was happening over the last decade. Was advised not to have surgery. Sorry for your troubles, hang in there.
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2 ReactionsYup. I have had PN for 40 years and also have hammertoes. My father had the same thing. I have found shoes with a wide toe box and that is helpful.
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2 ReactionsI’ve gone to the Brooks Ghost sneakers for shoe-wearing. Runners wear them for the support and comfort, but they also have a soft “netting” type top that allows the hammertoes to rise up and not rub on a hard shoe under-surface. In the house, I wear non-skid socks- the PT recommended those indoors for safety and to give lots of tactile stimulation to the soles of my PN feet. I gently stretch my hammertoes most nights while sitting in my Lazy-boy, then wear Yoga toes for an hour- stretches the toes and the foot bones/tissues out gently. It’s been 7 years and the hammertoe joints still aren’t “fixed”, so I’m hopeful to keep them that way.
Orthofeet has a MaryJane style shoe with soft netting on the top. I bought a black pair for “dress-up”, wore my regular black shoes once and the rubbing on the top of the toes was very painful.
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2 ReactionsI have peripheral neuropathy from chemo given to me for breast cancer. I have hammertoes on both feet, all of my toes. They don't bother me. I started putting nail polish on just my big toes because the other toes dig down into the ground and don't show! I'm 82.
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1 ReactionI’m so sorry to hear this. As difficult as it can be to walk when dealing with PN I cannot imagine the pain you have dealt with. I hope that one of your medical professionals is able to offer a way for you to get relief. Best wishes!
I’m so sorry that you ended up with these. I’m sure that having to recover from cancer was difficult enough without this occurring. It sounds like you’re experiencing minimal pain from your hammertoes which, if this correct, is a blessing. Is the nail polish just for fun or does it help with the discomfort in some way? Thank you for your reply.
Thank you for sharing your experiences and for your suggestions. I will definitely look into Orthofoot shoes. I’d not ever considered non-slip socks but have worn slippers with leather soles for years. They have made a big difference.
I hope that your stretching, etc your toes is helping in some way though my understanding is that the benefits of this type of exercise is limited to hammertoes which have not become “rigid”. Some change can occur as long as a toe is still able to move in the middle joint. I’m unsure how, but I missed this part of my toe’s deterioration so cannot personally speak to this. Again, thanks for your help and all the best.
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1 ReactionThey honestly haven't bothered me at all. I have numbness from the neuropathy but that's it.
My big toenails look ugly to me so I put the polish on them.
Recovering from cancer was easier than taking care of my husband who had Parkinson's dementia. He died a short time before I found out that I had breast cancer. We were married for 58 years.
Everyday is great now, for the most part.
I do have trouble buying normal shoes that help with my balance.