It is very common for many of us to have our “little finger” of the foot tucked, bent or hidden inwards. That the fifth toe is so prone to generating pain in the form of corns or calluses is understandable if we stop to analyze the causes that cause it:
Wearing a narrow shoe
A shoe with a narrow toe box leaves little room to accommodate the full width of our forefoot, and the toes that suffer the most from this “narrow” are going to be the extreme toes, that is, the big toe and the little or fifth toe. . As the big toe is more robust, it can withstand compression somewhat more, but the little one is more vulnerable to these pinches, and for this reason it can deviate in varus foot or in rotation.
Hits
Being in the first line of fire, the fifth toe is one of the first protruding edges of our foot that can run into the legs of chairs, tables and doors , which will end up chronically deforming it.
Flatfoot
The insufficiency of the square plantar muscle of our foot, caused by the directional change that the flat foot supposes, causes said muscle to change its traction arm on the flexors, and therefore, the fifth toe adopts an oblique shape in its pulling. functional.
Congenital atrophy of the phalanges
An inheritance from our parents or grandparents can cause the phalanges of our little finger to be fused or semi-joined, making the finger more atrophic and deviated than normal.
Rubén Sánchez-Gómez is a researcher at UCM-URJC and directs the Pododinámica clinic
