WEBVTT - Do Our Pinky Toes Serve a Purpose?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren Vogelbomb Here. Your pinky toe might seem like it

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<v Speaker 1>serves no real function but to look cute. But if

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<v Speaker 1>you've ever stubbed, fractured, or otherwise injured it, you find

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<v Speaker 1>out otherwise. You're probably surprised at how much an injured

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<v Speaker 1>fifth toe affects your everyday life. The pinky is part

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<v Speaker 1>of an extremely complex system within the foot. Think about

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<v Speaker 1>how much strength, flexibility, and fine motor control is packed

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<v Speaker 1>into that relatively small structure. Every floor standard foot is

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<v Speaker 1>composed of about thirty three joints, twenty six bones, twenty

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<v Speaker 1>ish muscles, more than one hundred tendons and ligaments, bercy

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<v Speaker 1>to keep the tendons lubricated, and a whole bunch of

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<v Speaker 1>blood vessels to keep all of that equipment working. All

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<v Speaker 1>of these parts can make any foot injury extra unpleasant.

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<v Speaker 1>For the article, this episode is based on How Stuff Works.

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<v Speaker 1>Spoke by email with doctor Aditi Gupta Ja, a consultant physician.

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<v Speaker 1>She said, any pain in that area is definitely high

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<v Speaker 1>since it is mostly muscle and blood, leading to more

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<v Speaker 1>inflammation and aches when swollen. Should something happen. You can

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<v Speaker 1>learn to live without this little piggy, but it's easier

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<v Speaker 1>to have one, as it works in concert with the

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<v Speaker 1>other toes and the rest of the foot to get

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<v Speaker 1>humans who walk where they need to go. How stuff works.

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<v Speaker 1>Also spoke with podiatrist doctor Bruce Pinker. He explained the

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<v Speaker 1>purpose of the pinky toe is to provide balance and propulsion.

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<v Speaker 1>As one takes a step, the foot rolls from lateral

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<v Speaker 1>to medial In normal foot biomechanics, this motion helps us

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<v Speaker 1>push off to the next step. When the pinky is

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<v Speaker 1>damaged in some way or has to be amputated, that

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<v Speaker 1>propulsion is limited, leading to an affected gait. It can

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<v Speaker 1>also cause from imbalance. It turns out that our reliance

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<v Speaker 1>on the foot's tripod of balance that is the heel,

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<v Speaker 1>the pinky toe knuckle, and the big toe knuckle is

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<v Speaker 1>pretty crucial. Loss of any one of those elements can

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<v Speaker 1>significantly inhibit a person's ability to walk or run, or

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<v Speaker 1>skip or tango. Because it helps control balance and push,

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<v Speaker 1>the pinky is also important in sports like swimming. Competitive

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<v Speaker 1>swimmers have to push off of diving boards and the

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<v Speaker 1>sides of pools during turns, so losing pinky functionality could

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<v Speaker 1>put a crimp in their livelihood. All of your toes

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<v Speaker 1>can suffer fractures, dislocations, or sprains from heavy blows or

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<v Speaker 1>high impact activities, but being located at the outside of

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<v Speaker 1>the foot means that your little toe is extra vulnerable

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<v Speaker 1>to impacts like stubs and shout out to anyone else

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<v Speaker 1>who frequently tries to move through furniture instead of around it.

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<v Speaker 1>The pinky is so particularly at risk from ill fitting

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<v Speaker 1>footwear and especially from shoes with narrow toes. Due to

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<v Speaker 1>constriction and friction, the bursi that helped cushion and lubricate

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<v Speaker 1>the other equipment in your feet can become swollen and irritated.

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<v Speaker 1>A painful condition called bursitis hammer toe can develop, which

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<v Speaker 1>is when the toe abnormally bends in the middle. It

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<v Speaker 1>is more common in the second, third, and fourth toes

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<v Speaker 1>at the middle joint, but can occur in pinkies too.

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<v Speaker 1>A narrow or pointed toe box can also cause a

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<v Speaker 1>bunyonette to develop, which is a painful bump on the

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<v Speaker 1>outside base of pinky toe caused by inflammation at the joint,

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<v Speaker 1>and pinkies are infamous among podiatrists anyway, for developing corns,

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<v Speaker 1>which are lesions made up of layers of hardened skin

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<v Speaker 1>that can build up when a shoe repeatedly presses and

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<v Speaker 1>rubs against a certain spot. Corns can be tender and annoying,

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<v Speaker 1>like having a rock in your shoe that you can't

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<v Speaker 1>get of, but can also cut off a nerve or

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<v Speaker 1>bursa and cause deeper damage. For some of these ailments,

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<v Speaker 1>simply switching to a shoe with a wider toe box

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<v Speaker 1>and using soft padding to prevent further irritation can resolve

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<v Speaker 1>the issue. But let's say you severely stubb or snash

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<v Speaker 1>your toe and fear that it's fractured. What next? Don't

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<v Speaker 1>try to tough it out, Visit the medical professional and

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<v Speaker 1>get an X ray. A fracture that isn't properly treated

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<v Speaker 1>could subject to you to premature arthritis if the joint

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<v Speaker 1>is impacted. Doctor gup Deja said, if the little toe

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<v Speaker 1>is severely bruised or injured, it needs to be cared

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<v Speaker 1>for based on the kind of injury. If it's only

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<v Speaker 1>superficial skin, it repairs itself over time with good hygiene

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<v Speaker 1>and antibiotic ointments. If the muscle or bone is however, injured.

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<v Speaker 1>Conservative management is advised to try and preserve the defected part,

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<v Speaker 1>and mostly a sprint is applied, which is a bandage

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<v Speaker 1>that's tied to the adjacent toe so that movement is

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<v Speaker 1>restricted and healing can then occur. And in the event

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<v Speaker 1>that you have to get your little toe amputated, there

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<v Speaker 1>are plenty of options for getting you back on your feet,

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<v Speaker 1>including physical therapy and shoe inserts. How Stuffworks also spoke

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<v Speaker 1>via email with pediatrist doctor Mark Hinkus. He said losing

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<v Speaker 1>a pinky can be psychologically distressing and we often refer

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<v Speaker 1>patients to a counselor before and after the procedure. They

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<v Speaker 1>also may use a special custom insul after the operation

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<v Speaker 1>site heals. Again, it's always better to be on the

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<v Speaker 1>safe side. So if you experience swelling, in pain, a

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<v Speaker 1>burning or numbness in your pinky toe, have a hard

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<v Speaker 1>time putting weight on your foot, and notice crookedness or bruising,

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<v Speaker 1>and if you heard a popping sound when an injury occurred,

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<v Speaker 1>hobble on in to see a medical professional. They'll be

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<v Speaker 1>able to test for damage to the bones and surrounding

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<v Speaker 1>nerves and blood vessels and help you figure out how

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<v Speaker 1>to reduce discomfort while you heal. Heal pun intended after

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<v Speaker 1>the fact. Today's episode is based on the article Surprise

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<v Speaker 1>your Pinky Too Does Serve a Purpose on HowStuffWorks dot Com,

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<v Speaker 1>written by Aleiah Hoyt. Brain Stuff is a production of

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<v Speaker 1>iHeartRadio in partnership with HowStuffWorks dot Com and is produced

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<v Speaker 1>by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts from my heart Radio,

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<v Speaker 1>visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen

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<v Speaker 1>to your favorite shows.