Harvey R. Danciger, DPM
74-000 Country Club Drive, Suite A-2
Palm Desert, CA 92260
(760) 568-0108
Overlapping or Underlapping Toes
Understanding the different kinds of problems with your feet is the best way to prevent and treat them. We believe our patients make the best decisions by being fully informed. Our patient library is an excellent learning tool for understanding all kinds of foot conditions, injuries, diseases, and deformities. It's also a great resource for answers to common questions like, "What should I look for in a shoe?", "How can I stretch my feet?", or "How can I prevent ingrown toenails?"
Browse through our library by using the tool bar on the right side of this page.
Not only can you find valuable information in our patient library, but we also provide excellent information on our blogs every week. By following us on twitter or checking out our facebook page, you can also follow links to interesting foot-related issues and see what others are saying about feet.
As always, you can contact our office to answer any questions or concerns.
Order Your
Complimentary Copy of
"Why Do My Feet Hurt?"
"The best way to take care of your feet and ankles is to have the information you need. That's why I'm making this book available to anyone who requests it"
- Dr. Harvey Danciger
Overlapping toes are characterized by one toe lying on top of an adjacent toe. The fifth toe is the most commonly affected. Overlapping toes may develop in the unborn fetus. Passive stretching and adhesive taping is most commonly used to correct overlapping toes in infants, but the deformity usually recurs. Sometimes they can be surgically corrected by releasing the tendon and soft tissues about the joint at the base of the fifth toe. In some extreme cases, a pin may be surgically inserted to hold the toe in a straightened position. The pin, which exits the tip of the toe, may be left in place for up to three weeks.
Underlapping toes usually involve the fourth and fifth toes. (A special form of underlapping toes is called congenital curly toes). The cause of underlapping toes is unknown. It is speculated that they may be caused by an imbalance in muscle strength of the small muscles of the foot. If deformed toes are flexible, a simple release of the tendon in the bottom of the toe will allow for them to straighten. If the deformity is rigid, surgery may be needed to remove a small portion of the bone in the toe.
