arthritic feet

Hello @rayhorne, welcome to Connect. Thank you for starting a discussion about arthritic feet. If I may ask, could you share a bit more about your situation so that other members can relate?

What sort of arthritis do you have? Is it in your ankle or your foot bones? Are you on any sort of treatment or what has your physician said or recommended as treatment or prognosis?

<br><br><br><br><br>My wife has osteo along with hammer toes. Dr. Prescribed orthotics and that's all.  I am using lidocaine lotion and soaking with Epsom salts.<br><br>

My wife has arthritis in her feet along with hammer toes. We have been using over the counter Lidocaine but still is very painful. Any ideas?

Hi @rayhorne,

Welcome to Connect. I'm tagging @johnbishop, @etsy, @mari, and hope they will join in to share their insights about hammertoe.

You may also wish to view this discussion, "Foot Pain," http://mayocl.in/2oNrjTg, where you will meet @simmie @cherril @success101 @blswilliams @jan52241 @robertlclark who have talked about similar pain.

And, here is some information from Mayo Clinic, as well:
http://mayocl.in/2ocxyyt

@rayhorne, I noticed you had posted your message in the Chronic Pain group; may I ask the reason for posting in the Kidney & Bladder group? We' are so glad that you've joined Connect, and would love to get to know you better.

Sorry, I am new and got into the wrong group

@rayhorne, No apology necessary at all; I'm glad to "meet" you, and connect you with the community. I've moved your message back to the Chronic Pain group, so that we can continue the discussion, and wait for the other members to join in here.

Thanks

Hi @rayhorne, welcome to Connect. I'm sorry your wife is having pain with her feet. I saw that @kanaazpereira shared the Mayo Clinic page on hammer toes which has good information that may give you some treatment options. I have a bad case of hammer toes also which my neurologist told me was typical for people with small fiber peripheral neuropathy - in fact he took a picture of my toes and asked if he could use it in one of his teaching seminars. I have no pain with my neuropathy. I only have the numbness and tingling so I have kind of ignored the hammer toes. My sister-in-law had her hammer toe fixed with surgery which she said made it better and was a fairly easy procedure (she is an RN).

I use a magnesium lotion on my feet to keep them moisturized and also try to do some stretching exercise of the toes - mainly just when I'm sitting I raise the back of my feet and try to flatten to toes to stretch them a little. Can't remember exactly where I found the exercise but I know that exercise is a key for people with arthritis. Exercise has helped me a lot with my polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) which I have and causes pain in my shoulders, arms and hands. Prednisone helps with that to get rid of the pain but it has it's downside too. I'm currently trying to taper off of the drug and hoping the PMR goes back into remission.

Does your wife have special shoes to help with her arthritis pain? One of the things I've done the past few years is to make sure the shoes are wide and roomy in the toe area so that it's not putting pressure and making the feet feel worse.

Here are a couple of YouTube videos that may help with exercises:

Hammer toe stretch and mobilization - http://bit.ly/2oaGxOU
Toe home physical therapy exercises - http://bit.ly/2nOJuTD

You may want to discuss treatment options for your wife's hammer toes and/or arthritis with her doctor. Also, it might be helpful to see a rheumatologist who specializes in this condition if it's not her doctors specialty. If you would like to seek help from Mayo Clinic, please call one of our appointment offices. The contact information for Minnesota, Arizona and Florida can be found here:
http://mayocl.in/1mtmR63.

John

I had my second hammer toe surgery. This one was unsuccessful. Wish I could show you pix.

Among other things,@rayhome, I too, have hammertoes. Until I recently had surgery for an ingrown toenail, I didn't experience pain in my toes. Now, I can only wear certain shoes that don't hurt my feet. I have a wonderful podiatrist who said he would do surgery. I believe I will have it done in September, after a family member has some appointments at a regionsl medical center. The pain is enough to effect my activities of daily living. I give you my sincerest sympathy as you walk through this journey with your wife. What a blessing you must be to her. Prayers and good vibes sent your way, for sure! Talk with you again soon!