Pain in the great toe or hallux joint in the foot is commonly due to arthritis. This commonly is referred to as hallux rigidus. There are several problems of the big toe joint that can hurt, with gout being an additional widely known one. At times the joint is entirely rigid and other times it is not rigid, it just has a decreased range of flexion that's lower than the normal. The commonest reason for a hallux rigidus will be osteoarthritis in the great toe joint. This particular osteoarthritis does come from years of deterioration of the joint due to a dysfunctional trouble with how the great toe joint isn't going to move the way it really should. One other reason behind the osteo arthritis can be a one-time (or a couple of) injury to the hallux joint which does some injury to the big toe joint and bring about the osteo arthritis to start. Usually, the symptoms from this starts as a slight discomfort, sometimes with an occasional sharp pain. Over time, it slowly gets worse and might turn out to be fairly painful. It will likewise modify the way in which you walk.

The treatment methods for hallux rigidus tend to be relatively limited as there is no solution for osteoarthritis. The initial technique is management of the pain and this could include injections in to the joint and also the taking of pain prescription drugs. This is certainly going to probably work efficiently for the short term but is not likely to fix the issue. Shoes which are more rigid or have a rocker under the fotwear are helpful at restricting the motion in that great toe joint, however permit close to normal walking. You can also get a graphite plate that can be placed in the shoes to make them inflexible to make sure that while walking the great toe joint will not move. Foot supports can also be often used and can often have a rocker or other design feature which ends underneath the big toe or hallux joint to also help limit movement at the joint. In addition there are some other type of padding which you can use as well as taping on the great toe or hallux joint that could also be employed to restrict motion in the joint.

Surgical procedures are an alternative choice which could be thought about for hallux rigidus. There are various distinct approaches that your surgeon could take. One of these is to simply just fuse the joint. This tends to definitely stop the pain and definitely will impact the way you walk around to some extent. It is still a good option. One more operative method will be to get rid of a bit of bone from round the hallux joint to allow the joint to move somewhat more readily. The third operative choice is to replace the hallux joint using an artificial one or put a spacer inside the joint so the osteoarthritis on the joints areas is taken away and the two joints areas go forward on that spacer. Choosing which of these alternatives is something that the operating doctor will have to determine depending upon how much destruction has been done to the hallux joint and exactly how workable the bone throughout the joint is and just how deep the joint disease should go.