Must Know About This

• Non-surgical treatments such as shoe modification, that removes excessive pressure from the joint, anti-inflammatory drugs, and corticosteroid injections.
• In some cases, surgery is the only way to eliminate or reduce nearly constant pain.
• The type of surgery depends upon the stage of degeneration, and can involve reshaping the metatarsal heads and reducing the bone spurs (cheilectomy), repositioning the metatarsal head (osteotomy), fusion (arthrodesis), or an implant (arthroplasty).

Good to Know About This

• A form of degenerative arthritis in which bone spurs that affect the joint at the base of the big toe and the degeneration causes two problems–pain and loss of motion in the MTP joint.
• Symptoms include pain and stiffness at the base of the big toe during use, difficulty with certain activities (ex. running), and swelling due to inflammation around the joint.
• Without the ability of the MTP to move enough to allow the foot to roll through a full step, walking can become painful and difficult. Pain is most noticeable just before toe-off.