Discomfort within the big toe or hallux joint which is painful whenever walking is usually commonly resulting from osteoarthritis and is usually given the name more generally called hallux rigidus when the joint is really inflexible or hallux limitus if its not too stiff. Hallux rigidus is uncomfortable while walking, so if its extremely painful while resting, then it may much more likely be gout than a hallux rigidus. With the hallux rigidus, if we are walking and the heel begins to raise up off the floor, the big toe joint would need to move for this motion to occur. In the event that motion is restricted or there’s a painful osteoarthritis in the big toe joint, then this is not going to be as simple simply to walk. It is logical when this big toe joint is painful while walking, then a reasonable strategy to deal the discomfort on movement should be to reduce just how much the joint flexes.

There are many strategies to do that. One particular method in which Podiatry practitioners use is with felt pads which can be put on the foot underneath the big toe or hallux and front foot or strapping may be utilized to tape the joint. Those two are usually really good short term methods, but just not practical in the long run. If you need a foot support for other reasons, there is an expansion that a Podiatrist can add on the front of the foot support that is known as a Morton’s extension which can be used to stiffen up the hallux joint by limiting bending or flexion of the feet. One other way is with a carbon fibre insole plate that generally are less than 2mm thick for them to fit readily into the shoe and therefore are very firm. These types of carbon fibre plates are usually used to handle hallux rigidus as well as other conditions for example turf toe which need to restrict the movement with the joint. The scientific data is that they are fairly efficient at dealing the pain in the hallux joint with these types of disorders. Another way to treat the pain from your osteoarthritis and hallux rigidus could be to simply use footwear that can be much more firm across the front foot. The more bendable the sole of a shoe is, the more that the great toe or hallux joint is likely to bend and also the much more likely it is to be uncomfortable if walking. There are several types of footwear, particularly the Hoka running shoes, that have a rocker and extra padding included in them which are especially helpful at that. The effects with the rocker in these kinds of footwear is that the big toe does not have to move just as much as the foot moves forward on the rocker. A pedorthist or footwear technician could add a rocker to numerous different types of shoes to obtain the same task.

If you have hallux rigidus or arthritis of the big toe joint, you can also find options in the short term to take care of the pain and alternatives on the longer term to deal with the motion of the joint that it is much less uncomfortable.