Hammer, claw and mallet toe

The balance of pull across the toe has shifted.

Small muscles inside the foot hold the toe flat while longer tendons bend it. When the small ones weaken or the toe is cramped in a shoe for years, the long tendons win and the toe buckles. Tight shoes, a bunion pushing the toe over, and diabetes affecting the small muscles are the usual reasons.

They can help early, not late.

While the toe still straightens when you push it, exercises and a wider shoe can keep it flexible and comfortable. Once it has stiffened they will not restore the shape — but they are still worth doing for the toes either side.

The toe, and the shoe.

The corn is the skin protecting itself where the bent toe rubs. Paring it gives relief for a few weeks, but it forms again unless the rubbing stops. That is why footwear comes first.

Only if the shoe change fails.

Surgery straightens the toe and is usually a small procedure, but the toe is often stiffer afterwards and sometimes slightly shorter. It is a good answer for a painful toe that will not settle, and a poor answer for a toe you simply dislike the look of.