What Does It Mean When Your Second Toe Is Longer Than Your Big Toe?

Did you ever wonder about the significance of your toes varying lengths? For starters, take a look at your second toe to see if it’s longer than your big toe known as the hallux. It’s widely believed that a longer second toe is associated with being ill tempered and it’s recommended to keep one’s emotions in check. Additionally, women who possess a second toe longer than the big toe signifies that she will dominate her marriage! On a cultural note, different parabola of the foot have been associated with various ethnic origins. For example, a second toe longer than the big toe is known to be linked to Grecian descent.

Folklore aside, it’s completely unknown if any of the above is true. However, what is medical fact: having a second toe longer than the big toe is perfectly normal because the metatarsal or the long bone connected to the second toe is normally the longest metatarsal of the foot.

In medical terms, possessing an excessively long second toe is called Morton’s toe. This can lead to excessive pressure under the foot causing painful calluses in the foot. Morton’s toe is also related to hammertoe or claw toe and can lead to agonizing unsightly foot corns on the top of the toe. What’s the remedy? Relief of foot corns due to hammer digits varies from shaving them down with a razor, padding, or over-the-counter, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication. The only permanent solution is foot surgical intervention. This involves removal of a small section of bone in the toe joint. As gruesome as this may sound, it’s a relatively simple procedure and has a twofold beneficial effect. First, by removing a small fragment of bone, the toe is shortened. Secondly, the bony resection stiffens the toe allowing it to remain straight and preventing recurrence of corns or lesions on the toe. The end result, your podiatry problem is solved.