Hi leafy. I have bunions and a slight beginning of enlarged joints on my second toes with the accompanying "hammertoe" trying to begin.

I have inherited most of this complex of problems from my Mom's side of the family. It is called Morton's syndrome, in my case.

The pulling of the tendon's and ligaments in your foot are what cause the humping that you are concerned about. The only treatment for this is a very good custom orthotic to support your arch and prevent the foot from rolling slightly inward ( pronation) which pulls the tendons out of line . Also the orthotic will address the metatarsal area ( the soft area beneath your 2nd and 3rd toes) and you will get a pad behind that area to support the forefoot.

Nothing that you put between your toes will stop the progression of the disorder. You can get individual soft gel cushions to wear when you have on shoes to prevent the toes pressing into each other, if that is a problem . I have them for my toes. The "yoga" toes do absolutely nothing to correct or delay the problem you speak of.

You can do exercises to strengthen you feet, place a towel on the floor and put your foot on it and then wrinkle the towel toward you by bending the toes into the towel and pulling it toward you. You can also sit with your feet out in front of you and concentrate on stretching all of your toes out and away from each other ....like a cat does its paws.

There isn't anything passive other than the orthotics which will correct/slow the progression of this problem.

My Mom had surgery a total of 3 times on her feet. Always they returned to the dysfunctional position. One has to correct the arch and strengthen the tendons with exercise and orthotics. No surgery or passive between the toes pads will correct it.

Hope this helps you. I worry about my feet all the time and have just gotten the final pair of new orthotics that I was fitted for in May ! They are really working but it has been an arduous process. I am fortunate to have excellent BCBS and they have covered it , after deductible. I am going to get a 2nd pair made so that these will last longer.

Good Luck and let me know if you have more questions.

The exercise I mentioned is also for anyone with plantar fasciitis. c

Thanks, Trail. I did used to have plantar fascitis but it went away about two years ago--I remember the towel-gathering exercise from when I was combating that.

I am disappointed that toe stretcher/straighteners won't work. I mostly wear sandals so it's really bugging me that my toes are not flat!

If you have an orthotist or more than one in your area it would be good to get an appt and see what they say about your feet. I am not a professional ! Do see more than one for opinions and their take on your situation before deciding and find out if they make the orthotics or if they send off to have them made...an important point for the adjustment part . Good Luck ! I wear a lot of sandals too...my toes just don't look very good...but too bad :) c

I have Yoga toes. They really do stretch my toes! You can't really walk around in them, but if you can sit still you will get stretched. That can't be bad, can it?

I had bunion surgery, and while the doctor was at it he cut a tendon to prevent the second toe from hammering. The second toe is now what they call a "floppy toe". I'm sorry I had the surgery. Keeping the feet functional is where it's at, in my opinion.