Pain in the big toe can make a person miserable. The first metatarsophalangeal joint connects the thumb with the metatarsal bone of the forefoot. Although the joints of the toes are small, they are important for the healthy functioning of the limb. They withstand significant weight load. Why does the joint of the big toe hurt and how to treat this pathology? The answer is further.
Causes of discomfort
The first cause of pain can be called a pathological condition such as valgus. This is a change in the shape of the foot at the level of the medial metatarsophalangeal joint with curving outward. It usually manifests itself in the form of an enlarged forefoot and a red, irritated, and sometimes swollen thumb. Notably, causes such as rheumatoid arthritis can lead to valgus.
The good news is that there are things you can do to minimize the symptoms of valgus, if you have them. Here are some strategies to consider:
- Wear flat shoes with a wide area for your toes to provide extra space around your thumb. This will reduce pressure.
- To prevent finger friction and irritation, use a cotton swab placed under or near it.
- Perform stretching exercises to improve leg and toe mobility.
- After training, apply ice to the affected area (be sure to put a paper towel or cloth between it and the skin).
- Talk with your doctor about taking an anti-inflammatory drug like ibuprofen if your finger is sore or swollen.
- If your discomfort persists despite these simple measures, an orthopedic surgeon (a doctor specializing in the state of the musculoskeletal system) may prescribe special shoe inserts to support your thumb.
If these measures do not work, and you still experience pain or difficulty walking, your orthopedic surgeon may refer you to a surgeon to examine your leg. There are several different surgical procedures that can be done to straighten the bone.
Next, we will talk in more detail about why the joint of the big toe hurts and how to treat this pathology.
Arthritis - a disease of our time
In the event that the joint of the big toe hurts, the cause may be covered in arthritis. The most common form of this ailment that affects the large joint is osteoarthritis caused by degeneration of the articular cartilage. It can develop due to pathologies of the structure and functioning of the foot, which leads to rapid wear of the joints. Injury, such as a fracture or dislocation of the big toe, can also lead to osteoarthritis. Other, less common types of arthritis that affect the thumb include rheumatoid and psoriatic.
Symptoms of arthritis of the big toe may include discomfort, peeling, stiffness and swelling. Pain is usually most noticeable when standing and walking. Some people with osteoarthritis of the big toe experience unusual joint pain, which leads to limited organ movement.
How to treat this disease?
Simple measures for treating arthritis of the big toe include taking anti-inflammatory pain medication, as recommended by your healthcare provider. He may advise wearing hard-soled shoes.
Physiotherapy can also be helpful, and sometimes a steroid joint injection is needed to reduce pain and inflammation. Less often, surgical intervention, removal of bone growths (the so-called cheilectomy) is required.
Gout
Also, if the joint of the big toe hurts, the cause may be gout. This disease is a metabolic condition that can affect the thumb. Gout occurs when uric acid builds up in a person’s blood, forming crystals, which then settle in the joint.
How does gout manifest? The very first symptom is a joint of the big toe. A bump formed at the site of localization of urates also causes discomfort. The joint swells, becomes too red and hot. If seizures occur repeatedly within a couple of years, bone damage may occur. In addition, visible or palpable deposits of urate may form, observed on the foot causing pain and visual discomfort.
Sometimes it can be difficult for a doctor to distinguish gouty arthritis in the joint of the big toe. In this case, a specialist can prescribe a blood test to check the level of uric acid. Often, doctors need to take a sample of fluid from a joint in order to test it for uric acid crystals and make a final diagnosis.
Gout Therapy
Treatment is carried out in two directions - locally (toe) and internally (lowering the level of uric acid in the bloodstream). An acute attack of gout can be treated with a prescription drug based on colchicine, as well as with anti-inflammatory medications.
The diagnosis of arthritism means that a person will need to significantly change his own lifestyle and regularly take medications, because, unfortunately, it is impossible to achieve a complete cure for this disease. But the therapy started on time makes it possible to take gout under control, reduce painful seizures to a minimum and avoid serious complications.
The main rule of cure is to control the degree of uric acid in the body. To do this, go to the rheumatologist. His prescriptions will be focused on reducing uric acid and on its quickest removal from the body. Only a highly qualified specialist is able to prescribe such medications that, with probable concomitant diseases, will not cause additional harm.
Most often, doctors prescribe non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for one to two weeks, such as Metindol, Diclofenac, Butadion, Indomethacin, Naproxen. To rapidly reduce the concentration of uric acid in the body, "Allopurinol", "Orotic acid", "Thiopurinol", "Hepatocatasal", "Milurit" can be prescribed. For relief of acute signs of gout, doctors are advised to take an alkaloid.
To alleviate the condition in which the joint near the big toe hurts and prevent future relapses, your doctor will most likely recommend losing weight if you are overweight or obese. To do this, change the nutrition:
- Refuse red meat, seafood and alcohol.
- Avoid foods and drinks with high fructose corn syrup.
- Increase the intake of low-fat dairy, vegetable and whole grain foods in your diet.
If you are constantly concerned about gout attacks, a specialist may recommend a prescription drug to lower uric acid levels in the bloodstream.
Sesamoid bones of the foot
These are two tiny bones located in the junction of the first metatarsal bone with the first finger. They are located inside the tendon, which bends the thumb down. When they become inflamed, the condition is called sesamoiditis. This condition may be characterized by pain in the joint of the left big toe or right.
Sesamoiditis can be caused by acute trauma or chronic overuse. Such pain can also be caused by fractures or severe stress on the lower limbs. Less common causes of sesamoiditis are infection or systemic disorders, such as autoimmune diseases. People suffering from this disease should be under the supervision of a doctor.
Diagnosis of sesamoiditis
Such problems are usually detected through a thorough inspection. To do this, you must:
- Lift your thumb up.
- Walk on toes.
- Press lightly on the thumb joint.
If during such exercises the patient experiences severe discomfort, most likely, a pathological process develops in the sesamoid bones. What to do if the joint on the foot near the thumb hurts? This will be discussed below.
How else to diagnose a condition in which the joint of the big toe of the right foot hurts? The diagnosis can be confirmed by x-ray. Rays can be useful, especially if a sesamoid fracture is suspected. However, sometimes they are difficult to adequately visualize on x-rays, so other examinations may be prescribed. An MRI scan is most commonly used in the diagnosis, but a bone scan can also be effective in detecting problems with sesamoid bones.
Sesamoiditis Treatment
If the joints of the big toes hurt, treatment begins with a change in shoes. Increasing the number of insoles in your shoes can help reduce pressure on the affected area. Special orthopedic appliances can be used to try to shift the severity of the support from the inflamed bone. Other treatments include anti-inflammatory drugs and ice. Certain types of activity that trigger the disease should be avoided.
If lifestyle changes and drug use have not brought the desired relief, there are options for surgical treatment. However, these surgical procedures should be treated with caution, since if you remove at least one sesamoid bone, deformation of the big toe is possible.
Recovery from injury can take several months, but this is sometimes not enough. Athletes may require a long period of restrictions, and often recovering to full sports activity can take from three to six months.
Sesamoid bones can be sore and inflamed due to acute or chronic injury. Sesamoiditis is often triggered by activities that involve balancing on the toes or jumping, such as ballet dancing or basketball. Destruction of the sesamoid bone can cause terrible pain in the area under the thumb.
The disease can be difficult to treat due to the large amount of patient weight or constant stress, stress. Serious cases of sesamoiditis or sesamoid fracture may require movement restrictions or surgery. You can only move around on crutches or with a cane.
Sesamoiditis that is not associated with a soft tissue rupture can be cured by real estate, fixing a finger or foot with gypsum, or using orthopedic shoes to reduce pressure on the affected area. Recommendations may be given on the purchase of a particular type of shoe, for example, with solid soles.
Tourfum
It is worth mentioning about such a little-known disease as tourfum. This condition can develop against the background of sports injuries and, like sesamoiditis, is characterized by pain at the base of the thumb. It occurs due to sprain.
Most often, the ailment occurs in those athletes who play on artificial surfaces, for example, football players. Injury occurs when body weight is transferred to the thumb when the sock is bent, this occurs when the athlete pushes off the ground when walking or running.
Depending on the extent of the injury, symptoms often include some swelling and severe pain. Travel treatment is similar to sesamoiditis. The most important thing in therapy is to reduce the load on the joint of the big toe to ensure recovery. In the acute course of the disease, it is necessary to apply ice, lie with your legs up, completely immobilize the foot and use crutches when moving. For more serious injuries, surgery may be necessary.
Many people suffer from a painful condition that restricts or ultimately completely paralyzes the movement of the big toe. As soon as he begins to hurt, it immediately becomes obvious that this is an important organ of the human body.
If you are in pain, you do not have to endure it. It is recommended that you consult a specialist because early diagnosis and timely treatment can alleviate the symptoms with a simple conservative treatment. The longer the condition progresses, the more difficult it is to treat conservatively.
Reduce the load
So that the thumb on the foot never hurts, preventive measures should be taken.
Remember that it is very important to have a normal weight, which would not be an unnecessary load on the limbs. It is also important to strengthen the musculoskeletal system and improve blood circulation. To do this, you need to do gymnastics and move more. But here caution should be exercised: excessive load on the joints, any injuries or improper implementation of certain procedures, on the contrary, can become a factor in many problems. For this reason, therapeutic exercises should be carried out with a doctor or instructor. However, for the purpose of prevention, it is possible to perform the so-called articular gymnastics - it is quite elementary and will not require special equipment. Activities in the pool are also good, as in the water the load on the joints is much less.
Do not forget to monitor proper nutrition, so that the body consumes the necessary elements, such as calcium, potassium, iodine and so on. All these substances strengthen bones and joints. It is also important to eat foods rich in vitamins, which will not only improve the general condition of the patient, but also increase the immunity and resistance of the body to all kinds of infections and bacteria.
A few words in conclusion
Does the big toe hurt? What to do with a joint? The article cited the reasons why a person may experience discomfort and discomfort in the toes. Most often, a painful condition provokes arthritis.
It manifests itself as a painful big toe, the site of the lesion swells and loses mobility. As the disease progresses, the condition constantly worsens. Bone growths can increase, because of this the sock loses its range of motion more and more. At the final stage, it is impossible to move a finger. It is also impossible to stand on or lean on it.
When it comes to this point, walking will be severely impaired, and pain can be present even at rest. Shoes are difficult to wear due to bone growths. And gait changes that were made at the subconscious level, so as not to step on the painful toe, can lead to other problems, such as pathological changes in the spine and so on.
Excessive motor activity is most often the culprit of pain in the big toes. Doctors often observe this condition in people who engage in active sports, work hard, and carry heavy loads. Arthritis can also develop after an injury, for example. In some people, it may appear due to a genetic predisposition.
Arthritis can be easily diagnosed by a surgeon who treats the foot and ankle. The best time to make an appointment with this specialist is when you first notice unpleasant symptoms. To make a diagnosis, a specialist will examine your leg, take an X-ray, and sometimes prescribe other examinations, such as computed tomography or MRI. This is necessary to assess the condition of the damage and exclude other undesirable factors.
Does the big toe joint really hurt? In this case, doctors can alleviate the symptoms with conservative measures. But if arthritis progresses to such an extent that the joint is destroyed, the doctor may suggest surgery.
Conservative treatment options include the use of false orthopedic insoles to correct deviations that cause the problem, and it may also be necessary to wear special orthopedic shoes. Other treatment strategies include oral anti-inflammatory drugs, cortisone injections, and physiotherapy.
Although these approaches can eliminate or adequately reduce pain for many patients, surgery may be necessary in some situations. In the absence of the effect of conservative treatment, surgery is performed.
The time required for recovery after surgery will depend on the diagnosis and the procedure performed. In most cases, surgery helps to get rid of pain and recovery.