Bent, Crooked Toes: Tips for Treatment and Prevention

Toes may look small, but they play a big role in your overall strength and posture. Strong, aligned toes create a sturdy foundation for knees, hips and back. They also play an important sensory role for balance. Sometimes, however, toes become weak and bend out of shape. Bent, crooked toes can lead to a multitude of foot health issues.

So why do bent toes occur? And if you already have bent or crooked toes, what can you do to treat them? Keep reading to learn how to fix curled toes and other toe ailments!

Feet as Foundation

Construction on the Tower of Pisa began in 1174 AD. Even before the builders finished, the tower started to tilt on its faulty foundation and immediately gained notoriety as a tourist curiosity. Fast forward to 1990: the Tower was in acute danger of collapsing and officials closed public access until it could be repaired. This led to global teams of preeminent scientists and engineers working diligently for eleven years to develop a complex system of weights and soil removal. Ultimately, the construction efforts were successful and stabilized the tower enough to guarantee its safety for the next several centuries.

The notoriety that originated with the tower's faulty foundation came at a price: expensive engineering, restrictions and ongoing monitoring. The same goes for your feet.

Studies show that 36% of shoe wearing people over the age of 55 suffer from some form of bent toe deformity [source]. These can be bunions, hammer toes, claw goes, mallet toes and/or crossed toes. Even more people want to know how to prevent calluses on feet that form where the bent toes rub against their shoes. Other people wonder "why is my foot numb?" because they have a painful nerve issue such as Morton’s neuroma. Bent toe deformities are progressive. With time, they can diminish your foot foundation, cause pain in your knees and back, and greatly affect your overall quality of life. If left untreated for too long, then some serious engineering (i.e., surgery) may become necessary.

The good news is that you can often spot symptoms early. Simple lifestyle changes can greatly reduce or even reverse the negative impact of damaged toes.

What Causes Bent, Crooked Toes?

Bent toes usually develop slowly over decades, often first becoming noticeable to people in their late 20s and gradually worsening with time to more severe appearance and foot health issues. They are usually painful and if left untreated can lead to serious mobility restrictions for seniors. Podiatrists disagree on whether footwear is the only cause of bent toes or if there is a hereditary component that compounds with arthritis. But, there is growing evidence that wearing confining and ill-fitting shoes is the primary aggravating factor. For example, women are much more likely to have issues with bent toes than men. This can be attributed to common shoe styles often worn by women that feature high heels and heavily tapered toe boxes [source]. Furthermore, we rarely see children with bent, crooked toes, and the condition is virtually nonexistent in cultures of people who live without shoes [source].

If your shoes tightly push together your toes for prolonged hours every day, then your feet will slowly conform to the shape of the shoe. Eventually your toes will remain malformed even after you take off the shoes. At that point, even flexing toes may become painful and difficult. 

Symptoms

Besides the obvious visible bend or curvature, early symptoms of damage may be achy, swollen or stiff toes. Corns and calluses may be early indicators that your toes are not happy and in need of attention. Bent toes often correlate with knee and back pain as your body tries to shift pressure off the painful points to other muscles and bones in your feet and legs. Painful nerve issues such as Morton’s neuroma—a sharp burning pain in the ball of your foot—are also a sign of toe damage. Finally, if you find great relief in taking your shoes off at the end of the day then it is possible that you are on a path towards bent toes and other poor foot health issues down the road.

Bent toes can come in many forms. Here are some of the types of toe issues.

Crooked Big Toe (aka Bunions)

A big toe bending inward at an angle is usually the first sign of foot trouble. While the medical term for bent, crooked toes is hallux valgus, you are probably more familiar with its layman term: bunions. It may surprise you to learn that a bunion is not just a bump on the side of your foot. Rather, it a combination of the bump plus the big toe bend. The misalignment of the big toe causes it to turn inward towards the other toes. That leaves a bump of bone or tissue on the side of the foot where the big toe joint originates. If left untreated, calcium will begin to form over this protrusion, making the bump larger and more painful over time.

Unfortunately, bunions have become so common in modern day western culture that an big toes pointing inward is often regarded as normal. Many people do not recognize it as a problem. It is also widely misconceived that bunions are simply hereditary, but new evidence suggests that is not the case [source].

Crooked "Lesser" Toes (2nd–5th toes)

There are many colorful layman’s terms for bent deformities of “lesser” toes, including hammer toes, claw toes and mallet toes. Problems with lesser toes are diagnosed not only by appearance but by the inability to wiggle them or flex the foot.

Hammer Toes

The middle joint of the toe bends downwards causing the toe to have a curved shape and not lie flat. Hammer toes are usually seen on second, third, and fourth toes.

Claw Toes

The joint at the base of the toe bends upwards and other joints bend down. This causes toes to curl downward and dig into the soles of shoes. Claw toes can occur on any lesser toe.

Mallet Toes

A toe bends down at the joint near the tip, closest to the toenail. Like hammer toe, mallet toes often happen in second, third, and fourth toes.

Crossover Toes

Also called "Overlapping Toes," this occurs when a toe lays on top of an adjacent toe. It is usually a progression of the above issues when they are left untreated. Overlapping toes worsen over time and are most often seen with the second or fifth toe.

Treatments for Bent, Crooked Toes

If you want your toes to be straight and strong, your shoes should be widest at the toe area. If your shoes are squeezing your toes together, pick less pointy shoes to fix your foundation. Early intervention can improve foot health and possibly even reverse damage and restore feet to their original shape. Remember to always consult your physician before beginning any exercise program to determine if it is right for you.

Just as it can take years for bent, crooked toes to develop, it will take time to reverse the damage. Reversal of moderate issues of malformed toes may take 1–8 years, depending on your approach. If you wait until your problems are more severe, then it will likely take longer to recover. Extreme cases may even require surgery.

Please remember that while we did take the tips below are from articles written by medical professionals, at the end of the day, we're shoemakers—not doctors. Our staff is not qualified to prescribe treatment or answer medical questions. We make no guarantees about results. You do any Any of these exercises or treatments at your own risk.

1. Seek Out Healthy Shoes

The first step on the road to recovery is to transition to shoes that allow toes to spread naturally [source]. For starters, look for shoes with wide toe boxes. In addition to having enough room for toes to spread, the ideal shoe will also be zero-drop. That means the heel is not thicker or higher than the front of the shoe. Also, shoes with toe springs (or toe areas that point upward) can also exacerbate issues with bent toes. Wear shoes that allow your toes to remain level with the rest of your foot while you are standing still.

For more info, check out our guide of features to look for in healthy shoes:

Healthy footwear that allows natural foot function may be an important step you can take to improve your foot health. Don't rush! It is important to make this change gradually to prevent injury while your feet adjust to new shoes. After all, you will be using muscles and tendons in new ways, and likely stimulate weak muscles in your feet. You need to strengthen your feet slowly and carefully to avoid creating any additional damage. Think of it like when someone starts a running routine. If you run a marathon your first day instead of gradually building up strength, then you're asking for an injury.

Wide toe box shoes can be highly beneficial for foot health restoration. If you cannot part with all your heels and fancy, pointy shoes, at least try to limit wearing them only for short duration special occasions.

Our favorite wide toe box running shoes:

2. Develop Foot-Strengthening Habits

Here are five healthy habits that can help reverse the damage of bent, crooked toes:

1. Spend a little time barefoot each day.
2. Avoid tight socks or tight stockings.
3. Massaging your feet to speed the dissolution of calluses and corns. In addition to hand massages, there are quite a few over-the-counter foot massage tools. Rolling spiky balls under your feet can be therapeutic.
4. Try foot-strengthening exercises. One popular technique is to lay a towel on the floor and try picking it up with your toes. It's easy to do while watching TV!
5. Consider consulting with a physical therapist for personally tailored advice on foot stretching and strengthening exercises.

There are also scores of helpful books and videos online that can give you more tips for improving toe health. One of our favorites is the book Whole Body Barefoot: Transitioning Well to Minimal Footwear by renowned biomechanist Katy Bowman. Katy and her certified instructors also teach hands-on workshops across the country focused on restoring foot health. For more info, visit her Nutritious Movement website.

3. Wear Toe Spacers

Toe spacers can be a very effective tool to speed up recovery of damaged toes. However, like with transitioning to minimalist shoes, we recommend introducing them gradually.

Our favorite toe spacers are silicone Correct Toes, invented and tested by Dr. Ray McClanahan DPM. He was astounded at how quickly podiatrists prescribed surgery for foot problems. Dr. McClanahan realized that you can treat bent, crooked toes naturally, so he created Correct Toes for that very purpose.

Why do we like Correct Toes so much? Because they have many advantages to other toe spacers on the market:

• Dr. McClanahan designed Correct Toes using his extensive knowledge of foot anatomy. He thoroughly tested them in medical trials for optimal comfort and effectiveness. Most knock-off brands cannot make this claim. Unfortunately, small differences in the design of toe spacers can have a painful or otherwise detrimental impact on your feet.
• Unlike most other toe spacers, Correct Toes are easily adjustable. In addition to being available in several sizes, they can be modified accommodate special needs. The instructions that come with Correct Toes provide information on how to make these adjustments.
• The flexible silicone design of Correct Toes are extremely versatile. While other toe spacers barely let you stand or walk in them, you can wear Correct Toes during athletic activities.
• Great customer service! Based in Portland, Oregon, the Correct Toes staff work closely with Dr. McClanahan and his clinic. Many of them are medical professionals themselves, so they have encyclopedic knowledge regarding the natural treatment of foot problems. Check out the Correct Toes website for access to their vast knowledge base.

4. Wear Metatarsal Pads

Similarly, metatarsal pads can further promote the restoration of natural foot function [source]. Conventional shoes tend to have tapered toe boxes and raised toe springs. These features often result in the arch under the ball of your foot pushing outwards and becoming deformed. You can place metatarsal pads in shoes so that they sit just below the ball of your foot. Doing so helps the metatarsal arch gradually return to it's natural position.

Dr. McClanahan usually recommends metatarsal pads to his patients for use with Correct Toes. The two work very well together to speed up the recovery process.

For many individuals, the steps above may be enough to reverse damage from bent toes. Or, at least, these steps can help to prevent further damage and alleviate pain. Many of our customers believed they needed surgery to repair their toe issues. Then they found that switching to minimalist shoes, wearing toe spacers, or performing simple exercises were enough.

If your bent or crooked toes are too severe, however, then more drastic treatment may be necessary. Talk to your doctor if you are in constant pain, experiencing severe arthritis, or if the deformation is serious. 

Invest in your future health by giving your body the best foundation possible. Take inventory of how strong and straight your toes are. If you have bent, crooked toes, corns, or calluses, take steps now to correct your footing. (Pun intended).

Thanks to our artistic Elf Molly for drawing the foot sketches in this post!

C.Elf.O Tricia

Trish has been an entrepreneur, marketer and maker ever since she crushed her first lemonade stand at age five. Growing up in rural Wisconsin, she spent many summers running barefoot with her sisters. These early memories later inspired her to build a brand which embraced the joy and freedom of childhood with the health and science of minimal footwear.

Trish relishes evolving the company to grow stronger and more competitive with each passing year. She is a frequent expert panelist for both e-commerce and entrepreneurship conferences. Trish enjoys spending time with her family, dogs and ducks on their property in Oregon and loves the proximity to both surf and snow. She has a background in Engineering Physics and an MBA from the University of Chicago.