“Painful Toes”

One of the many problems I encounter in my office is the problems of painful toes.  Toes can hurt from any number of issues.  The problem I want to address today is one of the problems that tight shoes can cause in patients. I am often asked why shoe width is important.  One of the easiest answers for this is to have room for all the toes to function properly.  The width is important because an often complaint is that of the patient having “bumps” on their toes.  Often these bumps are either corns that form by the toes rubbing against each other or the bones of the toes having deviated from proper alignment.  The usual cause of corns between the toes or on the sides of the toe itself is tight shoes.  If the toe cannot move freely, then a problem will occur.  A simple corn on the side of a toe can cause intense pain especially if walking or running.  The foot doctor specialist can remove the corn via surgical debridement but the importance of a proper shoe cannot be underestimated.  Tight shoes can also cause other problems especially if the patient has diabetes or other diseases that can cause loss of sensation in the foot.

What caused this toe to get swollen?