Relief from Big Toe Joint Pain: Causes, Symptoms & Remedies

 

Big toe joint pain can be many different things such as turf toe (where the joint has been placed into excessive dorsiflexion causing strain in the supporting ligaments), arthritis or sesamoiditis (inflammation of the sesamoids accessory bones).

The Cause

The above conditions can attribute one if not more of the below factors in the cause of developing pain in the big toe. Such factors include:

• Sudden increase in level of exercise / activity – A Sudden increase in activity in a short period of time can increase the pressure through your feet. Your muscles and tendons are not able to cope with this big increase and this can often lead to the development of pain in the big toe.
• Ill fitting footwear - Wearing footwear which has a narrow and shallow toe box as well as a thin outsole or high heel pitch (e.g. heels, wedges) can be leading contributions to pain in the big toe.
• Footy/Soccer/Rugby boots – A combination of your foot structure and the surface you are playing on can result in pain developing in the big toe joint. This can be made worse by the positioning of studs on the outsole of your boots. Quite often, one of the studs is situated right under the big toe joint and sesamoids. See the below image of a soccer boot, the red circle shows the stud position that can be the cause of the pain.
• Trauma – When playing field sports, sometimes the opponent or the ball may strike you on the big toe and cause the joint to be compressed or overstretched.
• Flat feet – Having flat feet can cause more pressure being placed through the ball of your big toe and the joint of the big toe.
• High arches – Quite often, people with high arches have a higher load placed through the front of their feet, as their foot may not pronate enough to absorb the pressure being applied from the ground and body. They can also have more ankle and calf muscle stiffness which can lead to an increase in pressure through the balls of your feet.

How to prevent the pain in the big toe

There are many ways in which you can try to prevent pain in the big toe joint and mitigate the factors mentioned above. The list below on how to prevent these are not exhaustive but can be a good place to start. Be aware that sometimes there is more than 1 factor that can help, these include:

• Gradual increase in exercise – If you have always been a person who does not exercise, you are looking to be more active, or training for a marathon, it is important that it is done gradually. By taking gradual increase in exercise (i.e. Two 30 minute walks a week for 2 weeks, then increase it to 3 walks and so on) it allows the muscles and tendons to become stronger at a rate at which they can adapt to.
• Footwear –Make sure your footwear is wide and deep enough to accommodate all your toes. Things you should be looking for in a good shoe are a firm heel counter (the back of the shoe doesn’t fold down), lace up or Velcro, firm midsole (shoe can’t fold in half) and a toe spring (the front of the shoe bends up). Having your feet measured for length and width is also very important. If you are not sure what type of footwear would suit you best, feel free to book an appointment to discuss this further.
• Rest/Recovery – Making sure you have at least a day off after exercising is important to help prevent pain in the big toe. By giving your muscles, tendons and bones time to rest and recover, this allows them to be ready for the next time you train/exercise. If you were to exercise every day, this would result in a big increase in muscle, tendon use and eventually the cells that make up the muscles and tendons will begin to fail and break down causing pain.
• Stretch and Strength – By adding in stretches and strengthening exercises, i.e. weights or body weight exercises, to your weekly routine it has been found to help your muscles and tendons cope with increased levels of activity. If you are not sure what a strength session would look like, please feel free to use the book now button to make an appointment for us to help you with this.
• Orthotics – People often respond well to orthotics which are customised to reduce the pressure on the big toe joint and relieve symptoms.

How to self-manage big toe joint pain

Now that we know what the sesamoids and arthritis of the big toe joint are, the causes and ways to prevent sesamoiditis, it is time to discuss the means in which you can help manage these conditions.

You should check your footwear and change them if you notice they are worn on the outsole or are not providing you with support like they used to. You should also make sure you are wearing footwear which is wide and deep enough to prevent compression of the toes and metatarsal bones. You may also benefit from a rocker soled shoe.

Applying an ice pack to the big toe for 5-10 minutes, three times a day will also help manage any localised inflammation that may be present in your heel. Remember to wear a sock on your foot when applying the ice to prevent a cold burn. *if you have neuropathy (where there is no feeling) you should avoid doing this until you have spoken to your health care practitioner.

You can strap the toe to limit the movement, click on the link (how to strap the big toe), to see how to do this.

What if there is no improvement in the pain?

At Sports & Injury Management, we work with athletes and weekend warriors, who are struggling with persistent, stubborn, niggling injuries, and work together on a specific treatment plan to help fix this pain.

This allows those athletes and warriors to become stronger, return to exercising, training, participating in sports and live pain free.

Recovery takes time, so please be patient and persistent. However, if you're still experiencing problems, despite trying all of the above and seeing little to no improvement after a couple of weeks, your Diamond Creek podiatrist is here to help. Call now or book online to start your journey toward getting back to doing what you love, sooner rather than later.

With over 14 years as a Podiatrist, I have successfully treated lots of patients with this and similar conditions. Come and join our community of active happy people.

SIM – Getting stronger, staying active