Treatment of Toe Deformities

Treatment depends on the severity of your deformity; the goal is to relieve pain, reduce friction and transfer pressure from your sensitive areas. If your deformity is flexible, you may be able to manually straighten your toe. If your deformity is rigid, there is extra stress at the ball of your foot that prevents your toe from straightening, and you may require more extensive treatment. Treating your feet as soon as you notice any pain, discomfort, new growths (corns, calluses or bunions) or shape abnormalities is very helpful in overcoming toe deformities. Failure to see improvements with the recommended treatments may make surgery your only option.

Therapies

A toe deformity forces your toes to stay bent for long periods of time, which causes your muscles and tendons to shorten and contract. Ultrasound therapy is a great option to decrease inflammation, pain, tension and soft tissue (muscle, tendon, ligament, and connective tissue) damage experienced with toe deformities. This can be received using a therapeutic, home ultrasound device (self-administered) or by seeing a physiotherapist. The treatment is easy, painless, safe, and generally requires between 5 - 10 minutes per treatment session. It is based on a form of deep tissue therapy, which is generated through high frequency sound waves (that we can not hear). These waves send vibrations deep into your body and raise the temperature of your soft tissue. The waves are delivered through a hand held transducer and medicinal conductive gel that are used together in a slow, circular motion on your skin over the injured area. You may experience a slight tingling or warm sensation during the process as a result of the gel; this enhances the therapeutic effects of ultrasound (Phonophoresis).

Ultrasound therapy increases collagen and tissue elasticity, which in turn promotes blood flow (circulation) and brings oxygen and nutrients to your tight toe and foot muscles and tendons. This cleans your tissue by getting rid of cell waste products and helps your injury to heal. If not treated properly injured tissue can heal with a weakened state, which can lead to scar tissue or calcification. If used on an ongoing basis, ultrasound will help to improve your range of motion by breaking down any scar tissue that may form in your toe and foot area. Ultrasound waves penetrate deep into your tissues, relax your muscles and tendons, decrease chronic inflammation and accelerate your recovery rate, so you can return to your daily activities as soon as possible.

Physical therapy, foot manipulation, deep massage and reflexology have also shown to be effective in relieving tension, strengthening your foot and helping with alignment.

Corrective footwear, orthotics, inserts or other foot devices provide arch support and help to align your muscles and bones so they work together. These will also help keep your foot and/or toe in a more comfortable position and provide relief. These can be purchased on your own or can be custom made with the help of a chiropodist, podiatrist, or a chiropractor.

Home treatment options

What you want to do is make your toe and foot muscles and tendons more flexible and strong. This involves strengthening and relieving tension in the muscles and tendons of your toes and foot through exercise and/or ultrasound which create blood flow to your injured area. Alternate stretching and bending your toes, pull on them with a towel, or try picking things up with your toes like fabric, marbles or a stick (scrunching your toes). Toe and foot exercises will also help to correct any muscle imbalances.

You will want to cushion your toes and give them room to move; shoes such as sandals or running shoes are often the best option for comfort. Properly sized, comfortable footwear that doesn't pinch or rub your toes is helpful. Look for soft shoes with a wide deep toe-box (shoes should be slightly longer than your longest toe to avoid any friction or rubbing). Avoid tight, narrow, high-heeled shoes, and make sure your stockings, nylons and socks aren't too snug.

Soak your toes in alternating warm and cold water baths, this will provide temporary relief of tight tendons and muscles. You can also gently rub your corns or calluses while your feet are in warm water or just afterwards, with a pumice stone or nail file. Do NOT try to cut or remove these on your own, as breaking the skin could cause a serious infection, especially if you have diabetes or a disease. Apply moisturizer to your feet after your bath to keep your skin soft.

Support items, such as straps, cushions, non-medicated felt corn pads, moleskin, toe shields or caps (hold down toe) can reposition your toe and relieve pressure, protect corns, calluses and bunions, and relieve pain, especially if you have flat feet. Splinting or taping your affected toe in place is also effective.

Maintaining a healthy diet is very important, especially if you have diabetes; as you will be more prone to poor circulation and lack of feeling in your feet.

Therapeutic Products

Blood Flow Stimulation Therapy

A therapeutic Inferno Wrap™ is one of the most helpful tools for toe deformities. The Inferno Wrap's patented design delivers the most effective Blood Flow Stimulation Therapy you can find. During normal activities, the movement promotes blood flow through our body. Our body responds to the movement by sending oxygen and nutrient-rich blood to the muscles, joints, tendons and other soft tissue in the body. Unfortunately, blood flow to the toe and other extremities is far less than the rest of the body. As a result, you will heal more effectively when you increase the flow of blood to the area and our Inferno Wrap™ gives you the best Blood Flow Stimulation Therapy available. The Inferno Wrap™ creates energy waves that stimulate blood flow by penetrating through the outer layers of your body. The energy waves reach deep into your muscles, tendons and cartilage, reducing your pain as they heal the inner tissue.

An Inferno Wrap™ gives you unparalleled blood flow stimulation to your toes. You simply won’t find a comparable product on the market. Other therapy products can not come close to offering the comfortable, contoured fit and targeted energy treatment an Inferno Wrap™ provides. You will experience a soothing, penetrating warmth deep in the tissue as it works to stimulate your blood flow, we guarantee it. Now you can reduce your pain and heal yourself with the comfortable, light weight Inferno Wrap™.

The Inferno Wrap™ provides effective, non-invasive, non-addictive pain relief with no side effects.

When your tendon has healed somewhat and it comes time for more aggressive rehabilitation, stretching and activity, Blood Flow Stimultation Therapy warms the muscles in the injured area which increases range of motion and allows for a safer more thorough stretch.

Therapeutic Ultrasound

Ultrasound Therapy is also a great tool for pain prevention caused by toe deformaties, and having a therapeutic ultrasound device at home can be a powerful and convenient treatment tool. Using ultrasound on a regular basis before your activity or throughout the day will help relax your tendons and muscles, diminish pain and inflammation, soften scar tissue and contribute greatly to the healing of your injury.

Therapeutic Ultrasound heats and massages your soft tissue giving you three primary benefits. First, it increases blood flow in the treated area which speeds your body's natural healing process. Second, it reduces swelling and edema which are the main sources of pain. Third, ultrasound softens existing scar tissue and minimizes the build up of new scar tissue resulting in reduced pain while healing and greater flexibility once healing is complete.

Eucalyptus...
It's in our Gel!

Ultrasound can also be used to administer therapeutic medicines into the body. This is a process known as phonophoresis. Ultrasound with Phonophoresis is rapidly becoming more popular than Ultrasound Therapy alone.

Peppermint...
It's in our gel too!

Our MendMeShop Lavender Infusion Gel is the only topical therapeutic gel that is also a Phonophoretic Ultrasound Gel. It is made with natural medical ingredients including eucalyptus, peppermint, Bulgarian lavender and menthol. These effective ingredients have anesthetic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, decongestant, and circulatory stimulant properties. When applied topically and massaged into the skin, MendMeShop Lavender Infusion Gel relieves pain and speeds healing without any side-effects.

Cold Compression Therapy

Our cold compression wraps work by interrupting and slowing nerve and cell function in the area of your pain. Once blood vessels are damaged they can no longer carry oxygenated blood to the damaged tissue and therefore cells begin to break-down. The deep cold provided by our cold compression wraps slows cell function thereby reducing cellular break-down. Furthermore, because the cold wraps serve to numb the nerves, the wraps also reduce pain!

Our Cold Compression Wraps are recommended as the top wrap by Leading Health Institutes like, Cleveland Clinic, several professional sports organizations, and countless medical professionals. That's why we sell them, because they are the best. We have noticed over time that our customers are so fond of our cold wraps that they are frequently coming back and ordering a second one - this way they can cool one while wearing the other.

Always allow the injured area to return to normal body temperature between hot and cold treatments by waiting 60-90 minutes before applying a different therapy.