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Toes Crack When I Curl Them

  • Before I would crack my toes a lot! Now every time I walk, they crack. It's embarrassing. I don't know if it's because I used to crack my toes all the time:/.
  • December 23rd, my toes began aching constantly and my toes make cracking noises when I curl them. Also now when my fingers 'crack' they have begun feeling 'warm'. I now feel the need to crack my fingers and toes all the time to alleviate the symptoms. I'm begining to think I may have Rheumatoid Arthritis.
  1. Why Do My Toes Curl
  2. Why Do My Toes Crack When I Curl Them
  3. Why Do My Toes Crack When I Curl Them
  4. Why Do My Toes Crack When I Curl Them
  5. Toes Curl When Walking

While shaking it up, I had flexed my toes complete & was stretching them against the floor at a 90-degree angle. I took 2-3 swigs of my pomegranate flavored drink & my toes started relaxing!!!:-o By the time I finished the 7-8 ounce beverage, my toes relaxed to normal & did not cramp again!!! Your toes curl and dig straight down into the floor or the soles of your shoes. Claw toes grow stiffer with age. If you can move them, try strengthening exercises like picking up a marble or piece. We all know the scenario: you are in bed, about to doze off after a long day when suddenly you are surprised by a cramping sensation in your toes. The toe cramps worsen, and you must get up.

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Medically reviewed by Drugs.com. Last updated on Nov 16, 2020.

  • Care Notes

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

What is Raynaud disease?

Raynaud disease is a disorder that affects blood circulation, usually in the hands and feet. The arteries (blood vessels) that carry blood to your fingers, toes, ears, or nose tighten. This is often triggered by cold or emotional stress. The decrease in blood flow causes a lack of oxygen and changes in skin color. Over time, ulcers or gangrene (tissue death) may develop if frequent or severe attacks are not prevented.

What causes Raynaud disease?

  • Primary Raynaud: The cause of primary Raynaud disease is unknown. This form usually affects both hands and feet. It is more common and is often milder than secondary Raynaud. It often affects women and first appears before the age of 30.
  • Secondary Raynaud: This form is also known as Raynaud phenomenon. Nicotine, alcohol, caffeine, and exposure to certain chemicals, such as vinyl chloride, can increase your risk for secondary Raynaud. The following are some common causes:
    • Inflammatory and autoimmune diseases: Secondary Raynaud may be caused by certain diseases, such as scleroderma, lupus, Sjogren's syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, and carpal tunnel syndrome.
    • Medicines or illegal drugs: Medicines used to treat high blood pressure, headaches, cancer, or colds may cause Raynaud disease. Use of illegal street drugs, such as amphetamines or cocaine, and some herbs may also cause Raynaud.
    • Trauma or injuries: Long-term use of vibrating tools, such as chain saws, grinders, or drills, may hurt nerves or blood vessels. Injuries to the hands or feet, such as a wrist fracture, surgery, or frostbite may also cause damage.

What are the signs and symptoms of Raynaud disease?

Your fingers or toes may first turn pale when you are exposed to cold or stressful situations. Due to the decrease in blood supply, your fingers or toes may then turn blue and may feel cold and numb. As blood supply returns to your fingers or toes, they become bright red. You may feel tingling, throbbing, or pain in your fingers or toes. Additional signs and symptoms may include the following:

  • Primary Raynaud: The color changes usually affect both hands or feet in the same way and at the same time. You may develop thick or tight skin and brittle nails over time. Signs and symptoms are usually mild.
  • Secondary Raynaud: The color changes usually do not affect both hands or feet in the same way or at the same time. You may develop thick or tight skin and brittle nails over time. You may also develop skin ulcers. Your skin may develop gangrene if your fingers or toes do not get enough blood for a long period of time. Signs and symptoms are generally more severe.
Curl

How is Raynaud disease diagnosed?

  • Nail fold capillary test: Your healthcare provider may put a drop of oil on your nail folds (skin at the base of the fingernail). The capillaries (tiny blood vessels) will then be checked under a microscope.
  • Blood tests: You may need blood taken to give healthcare providers information about how your body is working. The blood may be taken from your hand, arm, or IV.
  • Angiography: This test looks for problems with your arteries in your hands, arms, feet, and legs. Before the x-ray, a dye is put into a thin tube through a small cut in your groin. The dye helps the arteries show up better on these x-ray pictures. Tell the healthcare provider if you have ever had an allergic reaction to contrast dye.
  • Arterial doppler: An arterial doppler test is done to check blood flow through an artery. A small metal disc with gel on it is placed on your skin over the artery. You can hear a 'whooshing' sound when the blood is flowing through the artery. An 'X' may be marked on your skin where healthcare providers feel or hear the blood flowing best. Healthcare providers may need to check blood flow more than once.
  • X-rays: Pictures of the bones, soft tissues, and other parts of your body may be taken. X-rays can show changes that will help healthcare providers learn if you have other diseases that may be causing Raynaud disease.

How is Raynaud disease treated?

Healthcare providers may tell you to avoid things or situations that could trigger an attack. If your daily activities are affected and symptoms are hard to control, you may need any of the following:

  • Medicines:
    • Alpha blockers: These medicines work by stopping a hormone that tightens blood vessels.
    • Antithrombotics: These are medicines that break apart clots and restore blood flow.
    • Calcium channel blockers: These medicines relax and open up small blood vessels in your hands and feet. They may also help heal skin ulcers on your fingers or toes.
    • Vasodilators: These medicines relax and widen the walls of the arteries. This may also help heal skin ulcers.
  • Surgery: A surgery called sympathectomy may be done to cut sympathetic nerves. Sympathetic nerves in your hands and feet control the opening and narrowing of blood vessels in your skin. Surgery may also need to be done if affected parts have developed gangrene.

What can I do to care for my skin if I have Raynaud disease?

  • Avoid putting too much pressure on your fingertips, such as typing or playing the piano. This kind of pressure may cause your blood vessels to narrow and trigger an attack.
  • Check your feet and hands daily for numb areas, thinning or thickening skin, black spots, cracks, brittle nails, or ulcers.
  • Keep your skin clean and dry to prevent an infection. Use lotion that contains lanolin on your hands and feet to keep the skin from drying or cracking.

What can I do to prevent a Raynaud disease attack?

  • Avoid cold temperatures when possible: Wear gloves, scarves, or other winter garments during the winter months or before you go into cold rooms.
  • Limit alcohol and caffeine: Men should limit alcohol to 2 drinks a day. Women should limit alcohol to 1 drink a day. A drink is 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1½ ounces of liquor. Try drinking decaffeinated coffee, tea, or soda. Ask your healthcare provider for more information about alcohol and caffeine.
  • Use caution with medicines: Talk to your healthcare provider before you use medicines that may trigger an attack. These include certain medicines used for treating high blood pressure, headaches, cancer, or colds.
  • Exercise regularly: This prevents narrowing of the blood vessels and increases blood flow in your body.
  • Learn to manage stress: Stress may trigger an attack. Try new ways to relax, such as deep breathing, meditation, or biofeedback. Biofeedback is a way to control how your body reacts to stress or pain.
  • Stop smoking: If you smoke, it is never too late to quit. Smoking causes your blood vessels to narrow and may trigger an attack. Ask your healthcare provider for information if you need help quitting.

What should I do during a Raynaud disease attack?

  • Get inside to warm yourself.
  • Wiggle your fingers or toes, or swing your arms around to increase circulation. Massage the affected parts.
  • Place your hands under your armpits or run warm water over the affected area. Do not place the affected part in direct contact with hot water or a hot water bottle. The affected parts may be injured if they are not able to feel that the water is hot.
  • Get yourself out of stressful situations if possible. Deep breathing, meditation, or biofeedback may help decrease stress.

Where can I find more information?

  • National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Disease
    Information Clearinghouse
    National Institutes of Health
    1 AMS Circle
    Bethesda , MD 20892-3675
    Phone: 1- 301 - 495-4484
    Phone: 1- 877 - 226-4267
    Web Address: http://www.niams.nih.gov
  • National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
    Health Information Center
    P.O. Box 30105
    Bethesda , MD 20824-0105
    Phone: 1- 301 - 592-8573
    Web Address: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/infoctr/index.htm

When should I contact my healthcare provider?

  • You have new symptoms since your last appointment.
  • Your symptoms prevent you from doing your daily activities.
  • You need help to quit smoking.
  • You have questions or concerns about your condition or care.

When should I seek immediate care?

  • You have many attacks even if you prevent cold, stress, or other triggers.
  • You have pain in your fingers or toes that does not go away or gets worse.
  • You have sores or ulcers on the tips of your fingers or toes that do not heal.
  • You have black spots on your fingers or toes.
  • Your hands or feet remain cold or discolored even after you warm them.

Care Agreement

You have the right to help plan your care. Learn about your health condition and how it may be treated. Discuss treatment options with your healthcare providers to decide what care you want to receive. You always have the right to refuse treatment. The above information is an educational aid only. It is not intended as medical advice for individual conditions or treatments. Talk to your doctor, nurse or pharmacist before following any medical regimen to see if it is safe and effective for you.

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Tarsal tunnel syndrome is a condition in which the tibial nerve is being compressed. This is the nerve in the ankle that allows feeling and movement to parts of the foot. Tarsal tunnel syndrome can lead to numbness, tingling, weakness, or muscle damage mainly in the bottom of the foot.

Tarsal tunnel syndrome is an unusual form of peripheral neuropathy. It occurs when there is damage to the tibial nerve.

The area in the foot where the nerve enters the back of the ankle is called the tarsal tunnel. This tunnel is normally narrow. When the tibial nerve is compressed, it results in the symptoms of tarsal tunnel syndrome.

Pressure on the tibial nerve may be due to any of the following:

  • Swelling from an injury, such as a sprained ankle or nearby tendon
  • An abnormal growth, such as a bone spur, lump in the joint (ganglion cyst), swollen (varicose) vein
  • Flat feet or a high arch
  • Body-wide (systemic) diseases, such as diabetes, low thyroid function, arthritis

In some cases, no cause can be found.

Symptoms may include any of the following:

  • Sensation changes in the bottom of the foot and toes, including burning sensation, numbness, tingling, or other abnormal sensation
  • Pain in the bottom of the foot and toes
  • Weakness of foot muscles
  • Weakness of the toes or ankle

In severe cases, the foot muscles are very weak, and the foot can be deformed.

Why Do My Toes Crack When I Curl Them

Your health care provider will examine your foot and ask about your symptoms.

During the exam, your provider may find you have the following signs:

Why Do My Toes Crack When I Curl Them

  • Inability to curl the toes, push the foot down, or twist the ankle inward
  • Weakness in the ankle, foot, or toes

Why Do My Toes Crack When I Curl Them

Tests that may be done include:

  • EMG (a recording of electrical activity in muscles)
  • Nerve conduction tests (recording of electrical activity along the nerve)

Other tests that may be ordered include blood tests and imaging tests, such as x-ray, ultrasound, or MRI.

Treatment depends on the cause of the symptoms.

Toes Curl When Walking

  • Your provider will likely suggest first resting, putting ice on the ankle, and avoiding activities that cause symptoms.
  • Over-the-counter pain medicine, such as NSAIDs, may help relieve pain and swelling.
  • If symptoms are caused by a foot problem such as flat feet, custom orthotics or a brace may be prescribed.
  • Physical therapy may help strengthen the foot muscles and improve flexibility.
  • Steroid injection into the ankle may be needed.
  • Surgery to enlarge the tarsal tunnel or transfer the nerve may help reduce pressure on the tibial nerve.

A full recovery is possible if the cause of tarsal tunnel syndrome is found and successfully treated. Some people may have a partial or complete loss of movement or sensation. Nerve pain may be uncomfortable and last for a long time.

Untreated, tarsal tunnel syndrome may lead to the following:

  • Deformity of the foot (mild to severe)
  • Movement loss in the toes (partial or complete)
  • Repeated or unnoticed injury to the leg
  • Sensation loss in the toes or foot (partial or complete)

Call your provider if you have symptoms of tarsal tunnel syndrome. Early diagnosis and treatment increases the chance that symptoms can be controlled.

Tibial nerve dysfunction; Posterior tibial neuralgia; Neuropathy - posterior tibial nerve; Peripheral neuropathy - tibial nerve; Tibial nerve entrapment

Katirji B. Disorders of peripheral nerves. In: Daroff RB, Jankovic J, Mazziotta JC, Pomeroy SL, eds. Bradley's Neurology in Clinical Practice. 7th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2016:chap 107.

Shy ME. Peripheral neuropathies. In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Goldman-Cecil Medicine. 25th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders; 2016:chap 420.

Updated by: Alireza Minagar, MD, MBA, Professor, Department of Neurology, LSU Health Sciences Center, Shreveport, LA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.