Clawed or curly toes
Some people have curled up toes for the whole of their life and some people develop them. Some children are born with curled toes because the tendons underneath attaching to the tip are slightly too tight. They often catch up with growth so that the toes straighten spontaneously. If they do not and they either develop soreness at the tips of the toes or the curled posture is severe, advice about treatment should be sought. If a child develops curled toes during growth, the toes having previously been normal, a specialist opinion should be sought (especially if the arches become deep and walking affected) since abnormalities in the nerves of the spine are a rare but important cause.
The commonest time for previously normal toes to become clawed is later in life. Lifelong wearing of shoes which are too short can certainly cause the problem but is probably blamed too often. The commonest cause is excessive pressure beneath the ball of the foot under the base of the second and third toes (metatarsal overload syndrome). There is a range of possible underlying causes. Treatment is aimed at correcting the underlying cause as well as treatment of the problem itself. Some feet are particularly prone to these complaints, especially those in which the second and third toes are significantly longer than the big toe (a so called Morton's or grecian foot).