Easy To Do Hammertoe Exercises

Hammertoes cause any number of toes to appear to point downward instead of lay flat. This is usually due to improper fitting shoes that do not offer enough toe box room or from placing unnecessary pressure on the toe joints such as wearing high heels.

The easiest method to correct a hammer toe is through a hammertoe correction surgery. In most causes people will try various non-invasive methods first and only use hammertoe surgery as a last resort when they have already exhausted all other methods.

Before working on the specific hammertoe exercises outlined in this article, the first step is to start wearing practical shoes. I’m not suggesting you can no longer be a fashionista or have to start wearing podiatrist recommended shoes like you remember your grandmother wearing but you need to start making smarter choices or otherwise you continue to encourage hammertoe development. Wear a pair of running shoes whenever possible. Get creative and buy colorful pairs that complement your favorite clothing pieces. Your goal when buying running shoes is to find a pair that wear comfortably but also offer ample toe box room. If you must wear heels, try to purchase heels no higher than 2 inches. Make sure the toe box is not too narrow. Many of today’s heels are following the trend of pointy narrow looking heels but these are your toes worst nightmare.

To get started with hammertoe exercises the first one is rather easy to do. All you need is a chair to sit in and a small hand towel. Lay the towel flat on the floor. Now with your foot flat on the floor (never lifting up) start to curl your toes as though you are trying to grab the towel and pinch it tightly just using your toes. When you reach your threshold of pinching and holding the towel as tightly as you can; start to count and hold it for 5-10 seconds. Release slowly. You may get some toe cramping from doing this. If you start to cramp up, simply walk around a bit and then switch to the other foot.

An alternative to the towel exercise would be doing “Toe Pick Ups”. You will need a few small objects that can be picked up with the toes such as some wrapped candy like Hershey Kisses or Rollos. Anything thing that has a sort of bell shape to them will do. Practice picking up just one piece at a time using different toes with each grasp. Aim to pick up 10 pieces with one foot before switching over to the next foot. This exercise is great for improving the toes flexibility.

The next one requires a special wooden dole which features ribbed sections called a “Footsie Roller”. If you do not have a footsie roller or which to save money then you can create your own by taking 15 oz or 24 oz empty plastic soda bottles. Fill them about ¾ of the way with water (leave some room for the water to expand upon freezing) and freeze the bottles for about 8 hours or overnight. Once they are frozen solid, you can use them as a foot roller. Sit in a comfy chair, take your roller and place it on the floor. Now place the middle of your foot on top of the roller. Roll your foot forward slowly so that the roller makes contact with the beginning of the base of the heel and then roll the foot back so that the roller now makes contact with the ball of your foot. Make sure not to put too much pressure on the foot as you do this but just enough so that you feel it doing something to the muscles. As you roll back and forth you massage and loosen up the muscles in the feet that can become stiff throughout your daily activities.

To further exercise the toes and foot you may want to invest in some toe stretchers or something called yoga toes. These work wonders on gently stretching out hammer toes and the feet in general.