Pain inside the great toe joint of the feet are commonly due to osteoarthritis. This commonly is recognized as hallux rigidus. There are numerous problems of the big toe joint that can cause pain, with gout pain being another well-known disorder. At times the hallux joint is totally inflexible and other occasions it's not rigid, it just has a decreased flexibility that is lower than what is considered normal. The most frequent reason behind a hallux rigidus will be osteoarthritis within the joint. This particular osteoarthritis will happen as a result of years of wear and tear on the great toe joint due to a alignment issue with how the hallux joint isn't going to function the actual way it should. One other explanation for the arthritis may be a one off (or maybe a handful of) trauma to the hallux joint which does some destruction of the big toe joint and trigger the arthritis to develop. Characteristically, the pain from this begins as a modest ache, sometimes with an occasional sharp shooting pain from the joint. After some time, the hallux rigidus progressively becomes worse and may turn out to be very painful. It will also impact the manner in which people walk.
The treatment methods for hallux rigidus are generally to some degree limited as there is no solution for arthritis. The first strategy is treatments for the pain sensation and this can involve injection therapy into the joint and also the taking of pain medicines. This really is going to almost certainly work well for the short term but is not likely to fix the issue. Shoes that are much more stiff or have a rocker under the fotwear are effective at reducing the movements in that great toe joint, however permit close to regular walking. You can also get a carbon fibre plate which can be put in the footwear to make them stiff making sure that whenever walking the big toe joint doesn't move. Foot supports will also be commonly utilized and can frequently have a rocker or another design function which ends underneath the big toe or hallux joint to also help reduce movement with the joint. You can also find other kinds of padding which you can use and also strapping on the great toe joint that could also be employed to restrict action of the joint.
Surgical treatment is an alternative that can be taken into account with regard to hallux rigidus. There are many distinct techniques that your surgeon can take. One of these is to only stiffen the big toe joint. This tends to unquestionably stop the pain and definitely will impact the means you walk about somewhat. It is still an excellent choice. One more surgical approach is to get rid of some bone from around the joint to permit it to move a little bit more freely. The third operative option is to replace the hallux joint using an artificial one or place a spacer in the hallux joint so the arthritis on the joints areas is taken away and the two joints surfaces move on this spacer. Selecting which of those alternatives is something that the operating surgeon will have to determine depending upon how much damage happens to be done to the hallux joint and how workable the bone around the big toe joint is and exactly how deep the joint disease goes.