How to Fix a Hammertoe
Realign flexible hammertoes using non-invasive stretching routines, intrinsic muscle strengthening, therapeutic taping, and wide toe-box footwear adjustments.
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🧰 Required Tools & Equipment
- ✓ Silicone hammertoe crest or toe straightener splint
- ✓ Small hand towel
- ✓ Small smooth marbles (10-15 pieces)
- ✓ Wide-toe-box shoes with zero drop
- ✓ Foot basin
📦 Materials & Supplies
- ✓ Cohesive medical tape or kinesiology tape
- ✓ Epsom salts
- ✓ Warm water
- ✓ Moisturizing foot balm
⚠️ Safety Checkpoints & Warnings
- • Only perform these steps on flexible hammertoes that can still manually flatten without sharp joint pain.
- • Stop immediately and consult a podiatrist if you experience numbness, purple discoloration, or skin breakdown.
- • Do not wrap medical tape so tightly that it cuts off capillary refill in the toe.
📋 Step-by-Step Guide (6 Steps)
Warm-Up Soak and Tendon Release Massage
Fill a basin with warm water and 2 tablespoons of Epsom salts, soaking your feet for 10 minutes to soften tight flexor tendons. Dry thoroughly, apply a small amount of foot balm, and use your thumbs to massage the underside of the curled toe from the ball of the foot outward toward the tip. Apply firm, upward pressure along the arch and plantar fascia to release tension pulling the toe downward.
- • Skin on the toe pad feels supple and warm to the touch
- • Toe moves more freely during gentle manual manipulation
- • Skipping the warm soak, which makes stiff flexor tendons more resistant to stretching
- • Pressing directly onto inflamed joint knuckles instead of massaging the muscle belly underneath
Manual Passive Extension Stretch
Grasp the base of the affected toe with one hand to stabilize the metatarsal joint. With your other hand, gently grasp the tip of the toe and slowly pull it straight out, then upward into extension. Hold this extended position for 20 to 30 seconds, feeling a gentle pull along the bottom of the toe, then release and repeat for 5 cycles.
- • Toe knuckle lies flat against your stabilizing finger during the hold
- • No blanching or white discoloration of the skin due to overstretching
- • Yanking the toe rapidly instead of applying smooth, continuous tension
- • Bending the tip downward instead of extending the middle joint straight
Towel Scrunch Strengthening Drills
Sit upright in a chair with your bare foot resting flat on a smooth floor atop an unfolded small hand towel. Use only your toes to grip the fabric, bunching the towel up toward your heel in small accordion folds. Once the entire towel is bunched, use your toes to actively push the fabric back out and flatten it across the floor.
- • Towel forms tight, gathered ridges directly under the foot arch
- • All five toes actively flex and extend together during repetitions
- • Lifting the heel off the floor to compensate for weak toe flexors
- • Curling only the big toe while letting the hammertoe remain passive
Marble Pickup Dexterity Exercise
Place 10 to 15 marbles on the floor next to an open container or shallow dish. Using only the affected curled toe and its neighboring toes, grasp one marble at a time off the floor, lift your foot 2 to 3 inches, and drop it into the container. Repeat until all marbles are moved, then switch and perform one set with the other foot to maintain balance.
- • Individual toes spread wide before pinching the marble securely
- • All marbles successfully transferred into the container
- • Sliding marbles along the floor instead of lifting them clean off the surface
- • Gripping marbles with the side of the foot rather than the toe pads
Therapeutic Taping and Splint Application
Anchor a strip of cohesive tape on top of the affected toe, route it over the raised knuckle, down underneath the adjacent straight toe, and anchor it back across the base. Alternatively, slide a silicone straightener loop over the hammertoe with the soft crest resting underneath the toe box. Ensure the toe is held flat in neutral alignment without cutting off blood flow.
- • Curled toe remains parallel with neighboring toes while standing
- • Toe tip returns to natural pink color within 2 seconds when pressed (capillary refill)
- • Applying tape too tightly around the circumference, which restricts circulation
- • Placing the silicone pad under the ball of the foot rather than directly under the toe sulcus
Footwear Adjustment and Daily Offloading
Replace tight, pointed, or high-heeled footwear with shoes featuring a wide, anatomical toe box and a flat, zero-drop sole. Ensure at least a half-inch of clearance between your longest toe and the front of the shoe to prevent pressure on the toe tips. Wear silicone toe spacers or your straightener splint inside your shoes during daily walking to maintain alignment.
- • Toes can splay freely inside the shoe without touching the upper material
- • No redness or friction marks on the top knuckles after removing shoes
- • Continuing to wear narrow shoes that force the toes back into a bent position
- • Buying shoes that are too long rather than shoes designed with a genuinely wide toe box
Credit: inspired by an original tutorial by Zack D. Films — watch the original on YouTube.
Don’t have everything?
- No Epsom salts? plain warm water with a few drops of olive oil or foot lotion
- No Marbles? dice, crumpled paper balls, or large plastic bottle caps
- No Silicone toe splint? elastic kinesiology tape or two standard fabric band-aids looped together