Toe Arthritis: Symptoms and Treatment

Inflammatory processes in the joints have recently been diagnosed more and more often. They violate the normal life of a person, as they cause a lot of pain and discomfort, limit mobility and ability to work. Moreover, the disease affects not only the hands, but also the legs. Toe arthritis develops with gout, as well as a reactive form of the disease.

What is a disease?

Arthritis of the joint of the big toe is an inflammatory process that spreads to the small joints of the foot. It is more common in elderly people, but is not an exception in young people. Not only bone elements are affected, but also cartilage, a synovial bag. Subsequently, the pathological process affects the muscles and ligaments.

At the slightest manifestations of the inflammatory process, it is necessary to begin treatment. The prognosis will be favorable if therapy was carried out at the initial stages of the development of arthritis of the toe. If you miss this time, then the cartilage tissue will collapse completely, and pathological changes will become irreversible.

Development reasons

This joint disease can occur for various reasons. Among them, the most common are:

• Decreased body defenses due to a recent respiratory illness.
• Poisoning with low-quality products (this reason is typical for the pathology that occurred in children under 7 years of age).
• Sexually transmitted diseases, tuberculosis.
• Violation of metabolic processes, due to which uric acid salts are deposited in the joints.
• Autoimmune processes in which the destruction of bone and cartilage tissue by the body begins.
• Joint injury.
• Problems with the functionality of the endocrine and hormonal systems.
• Hereditary factor.
• History of surgery.
• Excessive body weight, as well as inadequate load on the joints.
• Staphylococcal infection, which leads to the development of a purulent process.
• Circulatory disorders in the foot.
• Genitourinary infections.
• Flat feet.
• If an ailment is found in a small child, then its cause may be a congenital defect in the skeletal system.

Varieties of pathology

Toe arthritis can be classified into the following types:

1. Osteoarthritis. It is characterized by intense pain that spreads throughout the foot and intensifies with movement. Extremity may swell.
2. Rheumatoid arthritis. This is the most severe lesion in which the connective tissue is destroyed and the joints are deformed.
3. Gouty. Most often, the thumb is affected here. It swells, becomes painful. It’s very difficult to step on the foot.
4. Psoriatic. The stiffness of movements in the morning is not typical for him, however, his fingers bend with difficulty.

Depending on the form of arthritis of the toe (photo can be seen in the article), an individual treatment regimen is prescribed for each patient.

Symptomatology

Toe arthritis develops for a long time. At first, it manifests itself slightly, so a person rarely seeks medical help in the early stages of development. In the future, pathology progresses. She manifests herself with the following symptoms:

• Pain in the affected joint, which intensifies with movement, at night, as well as with changing weather conditions.
• Limit finger mobility.
• Stiffness after prolonged lack of load on the legs.
• Local or general increase in temperature.
• Change in skin tone over the affected joint (it turns red).
• General condition worsening.
• Sleep disturbance.

Symptoms of arthritis of the big toe depend on the degree of its development. The more the disease progresses, the brighter the manifestations will be. For example, pain becomes stronger and disturbs a person even at rest. Over time, the affected joint is deformed, the patient begins to limp.

Arthritis Diagnosis

Even if the symptoms of arthritis of the toes are quite obvious, you should not make the final diagnosis yourself. First, the patient needs to be examined. Diagnosis should be comprehensive. It includes such studies:

1. Palpation and external examination of the affected area. History taking.
2. General and biochemical analysis of blood, urine. Study of biological fluid for the presence of reactive protein.
3. X-ray in a direct and lateral projection.
4. The study of synovial fluid, which is obtained by puncture. It allows you to determine the nature of the inflammatory process.
5. Densitometry. Examination of bones and cartilage in order to identify the degree of destruction or deformation.

Only a comprehensive diagnosis will determine the severity of the disease and destruction of the joint.

Drug treatment

Treatment of arthritis of the big toes should be comprehensive. The main principle of therapy is the elimination of the inflammatory process and its symptoms, prevention of further development of pathology, restoration of motor function in full. An important part of the therapeutic regimen is medication. The following drugs are usually prescribed to the patient:

1. Painkillers: Analgin. But this drug helps only in the early stages of the development of the disease.
2. NSAIDs: Diclofenac, Ibuprofen. Such funds should be used only as directed by a doctor, as they can cause serious side effects.
3. Glucocorticosteroids.
4. Diuretics: Allopurinol, Probenecid. These funds help to reduce the concentration of uric acid in the body.
5. Preparations for local use: "Fastum-gel", "Deep Relief". They allow you to remove minor pain and inflammation.
6. Antibiotics. They are necessary when attaching a bacterial infection. The course of treatment should not exceed 7 days. You can continue it only on the recommendation of a doctor, if necessary.
7. Chondroprotectors: Arthra, Don. They help preserve cartilage.
8. Cytostatics: Methotrexate. They are necessary if the cause of arthritis is an autoimmune process.

Thanks to drugs, you can quickly get rid of symptoms, slow down the progression of pathology. It is important to remember that a person will have to take medicine all his life, since he will not be able to completely get rid of arthritis.

Useful folk recipes

Arthritis of the joint of the toe is an inflammatory disease. Alternative therapy can include unconventional methods. Folk remedies will enhance the effect of drugs, will reduce their number. Such recipes will be useful:

1. Horsetail infusion. It takes 50 g of dried herb steamed with a glass of boiling water. Insist the remedy for 40 minutes. After that, it is filtered and consumed in 250 ml in the morning and in the evening. The course of therapy is 14 days.
2. Garlic tincture. It is necessary to pour 4 heads of vegetable 500 ml of vodka. Insist the remedy for 10 days in a dark nightstand. Take it should be 1 tsp. three times a day half an hour before meals. Tincture can be diluted with a small amount of water. The course of treatment lasts until the remedy is over.
3. Compress of heated sand or salt.
4. Turnip ointment, radish and horseradish leaves. All components are crushed and ground to a state of gruel. With this composition, the affected area is smeared, and do this daily until the symptoms disappear.
5. Bath made of fir branches.
6. Apple vinegar. It must be consumed inside. Pre-vinegar bred: 1 tbsp. l in a glass of water. To use such a mixture is required three times a day.
7. Alder leaves. They make a compress out of them. The plant is applied to the affected joint and fixed with a plastic film.

Alternative recipes should not be used as monotherapy.

Features of physiotherapeutic procedures

Since the treatment of arthritis of the toes is necessary in a comprehensive manner, therapy continues not only during the exacerbation, but also during remission. It is during this period that the patient is prescribed physiotherapeutic procedures:

• Applications with dirt.
• UHF
• Electrophoresis with medications.
• Paraffin therapy.
• Magnetotherapy.

Additionally, the person is prescribed physiotherapy exercises. The complex should be selected by a doctor, taking into account the development of pathology and body characteristics. Thanks to physical education, it is possible to improve the amplitude of finger movement, eliminate stiffness, and teach a person to redistribute the load.

Foot massage will be helpful, but it should only be done when the signs of inflammation have subsided. To reduce the load on the affected area impose orthopedic appliances - orthoses. It is important to wear proper and comfortable shoes.

Also, during treatment, you must follow a diet. It includes bran bread, rice and buckwheat, low-fat varieties of sea fish, jelly, and aspic. But smoked meats and canned food, fast food, muffin, fatty meat are prohibited.

When is surgery needed?

The therapy of arthritis of the big toe in advanced cases, to carry out only medications is impractical. It requires surgical intervention. There are such types of surgical interventions as:

1. Arthroplasty.
2. Endoprosthetics.
3. Resection.

After the operation, the person will have to undergo rehabilitation. It can last from several months to a year. It all depends on the degree of complexity of the intervention, as well as the regenerative abilities of the body.

Rehabilitation includes massage and physiotherapy exercises. The patient will need to perform exercises such as rolling the foot from heel to toe, rolling the ball or tennis ball with his toes, walking on toes.

Possible complications

Treatment of the presented disease must be carried out in the early stages. But finding it quickly is not always possible. The patient simply does not pay attention to mild symptoms, consults a doctor late. Running arthritis is fraught with serious complications, which are not always possible to get rid of. These include:

• Polyarthritis. With this disease, all joints of the ankle are affected and deformed.
• Osteomyelitis.
• Deformation of the foot.
• Loss of walking ability and disability.

With all these complications, surgical intervention is required, which does not always provide the desired effect.

Disease prevention

To avoid the development of arthritis of the big toe, it is necessary to follow the recommendations of doctors:

1. Eat rationally. Limit the consumption of salt and spices, introduce fresh vegetables and fruits, dishes, in which gelatin is present in the diet.
2. To refuse from bad habits.
3. Do not neglect motor activity. Every day you should do exercises or exercise therapy complex.
4. In time to be treated for any infections that develop in the body.
5. Wear comfortable shoes.
6. Avoid hypothermia of limbs.
7. If there are problems with the joints, preventive treatment courses in sanatoriums should be taken every year.

Symptoms and treatment of arthritis of the toes must be known to every person so as not to miss the onset of the disease. To pay increased attention to this information is necessary for those who have the genetic prerequisites for the development of pathologies of the musculoskeletal system.