The key difference between hammer toe and mallet toe is that hammer toe is a toe condition that affects the middle toe joint, while mallet toe is a toe condition that affects the upper toe joint.
Hammer and mallet toe are two conditions that affect the joints of the toe. Both these conditions can cause abnormal bends in the toe. Experienced podiatrists can correctly diagnose and treat these conditions. Most of the time, the treatment options for these medical conditions may include pain-relieving medications and physical therapy.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Hammer Toe
3. What is Mallet Toe
4. Similarities – Hammer Toe and Mallet Toe
5. Hammer Toe vs Mallet Toe in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Hammer Toe vs Mallet Toe
What is Hammer Toe?
A hammer toe occurs when the muscles and ligaments around the toe joint get out of balance. Moreover, this condition affects the middle toe joint. This makes the middle toe joint buckle and gets stuck in this position. There are two main hammer toe conditions: flexible hammer toe and rigid hammer toe. If someone has a flexible hammer toe, they can still move the toe at the joint. But if someone has a rigid hammer toe, they cannot move the toe at the joint. The symptoms of this condition include blisters and calluses from where toes rub against the shoes, pain in the toe joint, pain while walking, and stiffness present in the bent toes, which worsens with time. The causes of hammer toe may include shoes that do not properly fit, arthritis, alcoholism, Charcot-Tooth-Marie disease, spinal cord tumors, polio, stroke, high arches, and feet that rotate inward when walking and bunions. The risk factors for this condition may include flat feet, genes, age (increases with age), and long toe bones.
Figure 01: Hammer Toe
Hammer toe can be diagnosed through medical history, physical examination, and X-ray. Furthermore, treatment options for hammer toe include wearing roomier shoes, inserting pads in the shoes, practicing special stretching exercises, tapping or splitting on the toe, keeping ice packs on the toe, taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen, naproxen, steroid injections, and surgeries.
What is Mallet Toe?
Mallet toe is a toe condition that affects the upper toe joint. This condition may cause the toe to look curled instead of flat. There are two main types as flexible mallet toe (the muscle and toe joint are still flexible) and rigid mallet toe (muscle and nearby tendons are tightened). The common causes of mallet toe may include arthritis, bone and muscle imbalance, injury to the toe, and shoes that are too tight to wear. The risk factors for mallet toe are age (increases with age), sex (women are more likely to suffer), toe length, certain diseases like arthritis and diabetes, and heredity. The symptoms of a mallet toe may include redness and swelling of the affected toe, calluses on the bent part of the toe, pain in the toe while wearing shoes or walking, sores in the toe, and changes or thickening of the toenail.
Mallet toe can be diagnosed through physical examination and X-ray. Furthermore, treatment options for mallet toe include gently exfoliating calluses, putting toe pads on calluses, taking pain relievers such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and naproxen, steroid injections, stretching the toe frequently, using orthotics, wearing shoes with extra room and surgeries like arthroplasty, tendon release, and tendon transfer.
What are the Similarities Between Hammer Toe and Mallet Toe?
- Hammer toe and mallet toe are two conditions that affect the joints of the toe.
- Both conditions are responsible for abnormal bending in the toe.
- Both these conditions may have similar risk factors like age, genetics, certain diseases, etc.
- They can be diagnosed through physical examination and imaging tests.
- Moreover, they can be treated through medical like pain relievers, steroid injections, and specific surgeries.
What is the Difference Between Hammer Toe and Mallet Toe?
Hammer toe is a toe condition that affects the middle toe joint, while mallet toe is a toe condition that affects the upper toe joint. Thus, this is the key difference between hammer toe and mallet toe. Furthermore, in the hammer toe, the bend is in the second or middle toe joint. On the other hand, in the mallet toe, the bend is in the third toe joint closest to the toenail.
The below infographic presents the differences between hammer toe and mallet toe in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.
Summary – Hammer Toe vs Mallet Toe
There are different conditions that affect joints in the toes, which have important differences. Hammer toe and mallet toe are two main conditions that affect the joints of the toe. These conditions cause abnormal bending in the toe. Hammer toe affects the middle toe joint, while mallet toe affects the upper toe joint closest to the toenail. So, this summarises the difference between hammer toe and mallet toe.
Reference:
1. “Hammertoe and Mallet Toe.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.
2. “Mallet Toes: Causes & Treatment.” Cleveland Clinic.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Hammer toe” By Wwcmdmsha at neurosigns.org – Hammer_toes.jpg at neurosigns.org (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia