Pain in the big toe can be caused by many problems
In Point Cook, our clinic oftens see’s clients with pain in the big toe. Pain in the big toe, or the hallux is one of the most frequent presentations that we see at TFC Podiatry – Point Cook. As it is the biggest toe, it generally takes the brunt of the force from your gait and injuries in the big toe are often different to the smaller toes and from the rest of the body.
There are many presentations into a Podiatry clinic for pain in the big toe, it is a complex joint with a high load of force and pressure. The following presentations are just some of the causes of pain, if you have a painful big toe we recommend seeing your local health care professional.
1. Gout: The most common place to have a gout attack is your big toe, gout can happen to anyone with or without a history of gout. There are multiple risk factors and it can be very difficult to diagnose as it often presents with redness, heat, swelling and pain which is similar to other sources of pain in the area. Gout is usually managed with both medication and non medication based treatments, restricting range of motions and decreasing pressure on the area can be helpful for some patients.
2. Osteoarthritis and Bunions: Osteoarthritis and bunions are common in the general population and come in a variety of different degrees of severity as well as there own individual difficulties. Patients with Osteoarthritis or bunions can have difficulties with fitting shoes into footwear, pain into the big toe joint or even pain into the smaller toes when pressure may be deflected away from the big toe.
3. Sesamoiditis: The sesamoids are 2 bones that run underneath your big toe joint that work to increase the leverage of the muscles inserting into the area, as they are underneath the foot they are also exposed to pressure from weight bearing. Sesamoiditis often presents as: inflammation, pain and swelling underneath the big toe joint and usually requires pressure offloading as well as proper rehabilitation before the pain fully subsides.
Treatment of big toe pain can include: Orthotics, Rehab, Dry needling, Shockwave therapy or Injection Therapy
There are many other common and uncommon causes of pain into the big toe, if you live close to one of our clinics, please book an appointment online!
