Hammertoe: “Curling toes” Hammertoe is a contracture of one or more joints of the second, third, fourth or fifth toes. The contracture can put pressure and cause friction on the toe when wearing closed toe shoes, thus potentially causing pain and pressure sores. Hammertoes can occur in one or multiple toes simultaneously. Hammertoes are progressive, they begin as mild flexible contractures but can become rigid deformity over time. Usually the more flexible the contracture, the better the toe responds to non-surgical treatments. There are multiple reasons for the cause of hammertoes with the most common being tendon imbalance of the toe. This leads to bending of the toe. Other causes include, long toe, prior trauma and neurological changes in the foot. The common symptoms include: pain and irritation of curling toes when wearing shoes, corn and callus build up at area of constant friction, redness and inflammation and open sores in severe cases. The treatments for ha