Pinkie Toe Pain: Causes & Best Home Treatment 2019

Pinkie Toe Pain is 90% a compression injury and not a broken toe. Make 100% pressure you get rid of your pinkie toe pain.

Causes of Pinkie Toe Pain:

As small as the pinkie toe is, pain in it can be debilitating.
The vast majority of pinky toe pain is not caused by an accident or damage. It is mostly a biomechanical injury.

Do you have outside of the foot pain? — The fifth toe is attached to the fifth metatarsal. It is at very high risk for being sprained or broken.

Friction against the side of your shoe is one of the most common causes of pinkie toe pain.
What this means is that your pinky toe is the smallest structure on your foot, but it takes the most damage because in your shoes it presses against a curved hart service.
This can lead to numbness and burning and tingling type pain.
I told this small toe needs your support! You can’t just let it keep getting beat up and bruised all day long. It likely isn’t broken unless you crushed it or really bumped it hard.
The Video above provides you with a guide that you can follow to help diagnose the cause of your pinky toe pain.
If you hit your toe and you are unsure of whether it is broken, fractured, bruised, only an X-ray is the only sure way to know!

Symptoms of Pinky Toe Pain (Not Broken):

Symptoms of pinky toe pain that is due to biomechanical issues, and not a break is:

Sprained Pinky Toe Pain or Broken Pinky Toe? — The best way to tell if your fifth toe is broken is to get an x-ray. Your podiatrist can do this in their office and you can find out very quickly. So if you are reading and you think your toe is dislocated and broken, come get it checked out at her office.

An X-ray is the best way to tell if your 5th toe is broken for sure.
Redness, swelling and pain at the site of the enlargement.

These are symptoms that are usually made worse all wearing issue that rubs against the fifth toe joint and the fifth toe itself.
This irritates the soft tissues underneath the skin producing what is called inflammation.

If there is obvious deformity or bending, this likely means the toe is broken.
But if it is swollen, chances are there is no break, but it is impossible to tell for sure without an X-ray
The most important sign and symptom is no specific traumatic injury.
If you did not smash or drop something heavy on your pinky toe, then you’re probably okay and avoiding an x-ray.

Do I Have A Broken Pinky Toe or Bruised Pinky Toe? (a comparison):

Feel for a deformity – if it is uneven it is a broken toe.
Wiggling your toe- if no severe pain or rubbing/popping sound, may not be a break.
If your toe is extremely swollen (2x the size)- it may be broken.
Compare that toe to your other foot, if it looks shorter or bent – it may be broken.
Check your temperature- after a break you are more likely to have the surrounding area inflammed.
The only way to know 100% is to go visit your foot doctor or podiatrist!
Get an X-ray of your foot if not surgery.
Usually this does not mean that you need any type of surgery.

Causes of Pinkie Toe Pain: — The #1 cause of pinkie toe pain is compression against the front of your shoe. Very rarely is it actually broken or sprained. 95 percent of the time we find people do not have a fracture unless there was a traumatic event.

Conservative Treatment Options:

Keep reading for further in-depth guide what’s practical to do at home, but these are the proven medical treatment options.

Shoe modifications:

Choose shoes that are wide in the toes, avoid wearing pointed or high heels.

Padding:

Bunionette pads placed over the area can deftly help you your pinky toe pain.

Medications:

Non-Steroidal Anti-inflammatories such as aspirin or ibuprofen can deftly help decrease your pain in the area.

Icing:

Ice can be applied directly to the fifth toe to reduce the pain and inflammation.
The general rule is to use 20 minutes on 20 minutes off. In terms of an injury icing is much more important than simply saying heat.

Injections:

Sometimes your podiatrist can use an injection to cool the joint down if it is extremely swollen and if you need a quick fix.
But don’t make this your permanent solution, it’s meant to be more of a onetime thing to get you through a tough problem.

Orthotics:

In some cases, and orthotic can help take pressure off the fifth toe, but the tough part is if done incorrectly it just takes up more pressure in space in your shoe and makes the problem even worse.

Recommended Products:

These are great options to take pressure off your pinky toe.

Best 5th Toe & Tailor's Bunion Products:

Best Overall Gel Pad For 5th Toe Pain

Best Low Profile Tailor's Bunion Gel Pad.

Best Low Profile Option For 4-5th Corn/Interspace Pain.

Best Non-Walking Stretching Option.

Povihome 10 Pack Pinky Toe Separator & Protectors, Triple Gel Toe Separators for Overlapping Toe, Curled Pinky Toes Separate and Protect

Bunionette Corrector Splint - Pack of 2 Small Pinkie Toe Tailors Bunion Pain Relief Pads With Premium Gel Cushions with Toe Separator Premium Foot Orthotics Help and Protective Toe Straightener Sleeve

Natracure Advanced Gel Toe Separator (w/Toe Loop) - Toe Spacer - Small (1104-M CAT 2PK)

YogaToes GEMS: Gel Toe Stretcher & Toe Separator - America’s Choice for Fighting Bunions, Hammer Toes, More!

Price:

$8.99

$12.49

$5.99

$29.95

Overview:

Best Overall Gel Pad: For 5th Toe and Tailor's Bunion Pain

Good Tailor's Bunion Gel Pad

Great Option For 4th-5th Toe Webspace Corns.

Great Heavy Duty Toe Separator (Not For Walking)

Pros:

Helps the 3rd, 4th and 5th toes. Heavy duty. Helps the entire area.

Lower profile, less bulky.

Slim and effective option for rubbing between the 4th and 5th toes.

Excellent reviews, great for stretching while resting.

Cons:

These are more bulky. Can take up too much room in very slim shoes. These are not a splint! They are for pain relief.

Does not help the 3rd or 4th toe from pinching.

Zero benefit for tailor's bunions and 5th metatarsal joint pain.

Can't wear these while walking. Won't work if you have osteoarthritis. (If your toes don't bend).

Amazon Reviewer Comments (Make sure to do your own review research through the link):

"These separators help a lot! I can even wear them comfortably with closed shoes. And they're super soft!"

"I found these, liked the reviews so I thought why not... My first 10 steps felt like I had a new body! I feel more aligned than ever and NO, I repeat, NO foot pain!"

"The suction is an absolutely GLOVE-LIKE fit. amazing! i can absolutely feel that it will realign my toe. it lines up perfectly with my 3rd and 4th toes."

"YogaToes. What a great invention. Made in the USA. $30 and foot pain is lessened in ONE WEARING. Not kidding."

Affiliate Link (Buying through these links helps support the site): Thank you!

Buy on Amazon

Best 5th Toe & Tailor's Bunion Products:

Best Overall Gel Pad For 5th Toe Pain

Price:

$8.99

Overview:

Best Overall Gel Pad: For 5th Toe and Tailor's Bunion Pain

Pros:

Helps the 3rd, 4th and 5th toes. Heavy duty. Helps the entire area.

Cons:

These are more bulky. Can take up too much room in very slim shoes. These are not a splint! They are for pain relief.

Amazon Reviewer Comments (Make sure to do your own review research through the link):

"These separators help a lot! I can even wear them comfortably with closed shoes. And they're super soft!"

Affiliate Link (Buying through these links helps support the site): Thank you!

Buy on Amazon

Best 5th Toe & Tailor's Bunion Products:

Best Low Profile Tailor's Bunion Gel Pad.

Price:

$12.49

Overview:

Good Tailor's Bunion Gel Pad

Pros:

Lower profile, less bulky.

Cons:

Does not help the 3rd or 4th toe from pinching.

Amazon Reviewer Comments (Make sure to do your own review research through the link):

"I found these, liked the reviews so I thought why not... My first 10 steps felt like I had a new body! I feel more aligned than ever and NO, I repeat, NO foot pain!"

Affiliate Link (Buying through these links helps support the site): Thank you!

Buy on Amazon

Best 5th Toe & Tailor's Bunion Products:

Best Low Profile Option For 4-5th Corn/Interspace Pain.

Price:

$5.99

Overview:

Great Option For 4th-5th Toe Webspace Corns.

Pros:

Slim and effective option for rubbing between the 4th and 5th toes.

Cons:

Zero benefit for tailor's bunions and 5th metatarsal joint pain.

Amazon Reviewer Comments (Make sure to do your own review research through the link):

"The suction is an absolutely GLOVE-LIKE fit. amazing! i can absolutely feel that it will realign my toe. it lines up perfectly with my 3rd and 4th toes."

Affiliate Link (Buying through these links helps support the site): Thank you!

Buy on Amazon

Best 5th Toe & Tailor's Bunion Products:

Best Non-Walking Stretching Option.

Price:

$29.95

Overview:

Great Heavy Duty Toe Separator (Not For Walking)

Pros:

Excellent reviews, great for stretching while resting.

Cons:

Can't wear these while walking. Won't work if you have osteoarthritis. (If your toes don't bend).

Amazon Reviewer Comments (Make sure to do your own review research through the link):

"YogaToes. What a great invention. Made in the USA. $30 and foot pain is lessened in ONE WEARING. Not kidding."

Affiliate Link (Buying through these links helps support the site): Thank you!

Buy on Amazon

Surgery for pinky toe pain?

If you do all the stuff above and you continue having pain, sometimes a specialist such as a podiatrist can help you decide whether you need to take care of your problem.
We usually find that it is not necessary to surgery for the pinky toe, this is a very little structure and by simply correcting your shoes and a few other factors 99% of people tend to get better.
If you need a second opinion feel free to come and see us and we love to see you for your fifth toe pain.

Broken 5th toe vs sprained 5th toe — Even on Xray it can be very difficult to see if the toe is broken or sprained. The pinky toe can have arthritis or sometimes even be fused.

Conditions associated with the side of your foot (The 5th Metatarsal):

The fifth metatarsal is the long bone shown below that connects to the little toe. Any damage to this bones can cause pain on the outside of the foot.
There are different types of fifth metatarsal fractures that can occur; Jones fracture and avulsion fractures.
Other causes of pain on the outside of the foot and in the pinkie toe area can include a Styloid Process Protrusion and Os Vesalanium.

Associated Pinkie Toe Problems:

Other causes of pinkie toe include Heloma Molle (soft corns), Heloma Durum (hard corns), bunion (bunionnettes), bone spurs, bruises or fractures.

Calluses: Calluses are thick patches of skin that appear in sites of friction against the shoe, the floor or any other part of the foot. The danger is a blister can form underneath the callus!

Corns: A corn looks like a little pebble that can form, they usually even occur with a callus around them. This can be exceptionally painful.

Ingrown Toenails Follow our at home pain relief guides, how to trim your nails properly and even how to remove them permanently.

Swollen Painful ToeThese occur from stubbing your toe, so learn how to deal with them properly! Is it broken or is it just bruised, find out with this guide.

Little Toe Bunion (Bunionette)This is when you toe looks really big and as if though its popping out at the base.

Hammer ToeThis is when you have a crooked or curved toe.

Jones Fracture:

A Jones Fracture occurs in the small area of the fifth metatarsal as shown in the photo above.
This area of the does not receive a large blood supply.
It is therefore difficult to heal.
A Jones fracture can be a stress fracture (hairlike fracture) or can be broken suddenly and more severely.
It can occur due to repetitive stress or trauma on the side of the foot or as the result of injury.

Avulsion Fracture:

As the photo above demonstrates, an avulsion fracture occurs when the smallest section of the fifth metatarsal is pulled off as the result of an injury.
This type of fracture accompanies in conjunction with ankle sprains and are often overlooked.

Cavus Foot- Styloid Process Protrusion:

As the photo below show, the Styloid Process is the protrusion is a the end of the fifth metatarsal bone.
If this bone protrudes, it will cause pain because it will increase the likelihood of friction between the skin and the shoes (the area will likely be callused) and a bunion may form.

Os Vesalanium:

The Os Vesalanium is an accessory bone at the base of the fifth metatarsal.
In the majority of cases, its presence is asymptomatic. However, in some cases it becomes symptomatic and cause pain on the side of the foot.

Other Common Causes of Pain in the Small Toes:

Other Ball of the Foot Causes:

Other 5th Toe Pain Causes:

Tailors bunion
Cavus Foot
Swollen Toe
Jones Fracture
Peroneus Brevis Tendinitis

Recommended Treatment Products to consider for your pinkie toe pain: