With 33 joints in the foot, one of them is bound to be bothersome at some point. Pain in the big toe joint can result from a number of conditions. Whether you are young or old, an athlete or sedentary, the big toe joint can become injured, arthritic, infected, jammed or stiff.
If you’re dealing with painful toes, especially around the base of the big toe, everyday activities like walking, climbing stairs, or even standing still can become challenging. One of the most common causes? Arthritis. This degenerative joint condition affects millions and often hits the small joints of the feet first. Symptoms can range from big and small toe joint pain, ball of foot pain, stiffness, swelling, redness, bunions, toe deformities, corns, calluses and difficulties walking.
According to the Arthritis Society of Canada, 1 in 5 Canadians suffer with arthritis. Arthritis comes in several forms, and it can affect every joint in our bodies. It can cause cartilage breakdown within the joint space, resulting in pain as the joint’s bones rub together, and it can cause inflammation of a joint in response to an autoimmune response.
The foot is a complex system consisting of 26 bones, 33 joints, and more than 100 ligaments, tendons, and muscles. The foot is subdivided into the rearfoot, midfoot, and forefoot.
Once arthritis develops in the toes, it cannot be reversed. If treated appropriately, the symptoms of toe arthritis can be managed well and can slow down the progression of the arthritic process. There’s no reason for it to stop you from doing the activities you want to do and love!
Is your big toe or pinky toe distancing itself from it’s neighbor? Typically our toes all get along and live well in close quarters but occasionally we may have one or two toes that drifts upwards, downwards or off to one side.
