Discomfort inside the big toe joint that is painful when walking is mostly commonly due to osteoarthritis and is usually given the term more typically called hallux rigidus if the joint is very rigid or hallux limitus if it is not too rigid. Hallux rigidus is uncomfortable while walking, so if the joint is really painful at rest, it might more likely be gout pain than a hallux rigidus. Considering the hallux rigidus, if we are walking and the hindfoot starts to raise up off the floor, the big toe joint ought to flex for this motion to happen. In the event that motion is restricted or there exists a painful osteoarthritis in the big toe joint, then that it is not really as effortless simply to walk. It makes sense that if this big toe joint hurts when walking, then a obvious way to help the discomfort on movement should be to reduce just how much the joint moves.

There's lots of approaches to do this. One simple method that Podiatry practitioners use is with felt padding that can be put on the foot beneath the great toe and front foot or strapping could be utilized to strap the joint. Both of these are excellent short term approaches, however not practical for the long term. Should you need a foot orthotic for other reasons, we have an expansion that the Podiatrist may add on the front edge of the foot orthotic that is termed as a Morton’s extension that can be used to stiffen up the joint by reducing bending or flexion of the feet. Another way is to use a carbon fibre insole plate that typically are less than 2mm thick so they can fit readily into the shoe and are quite rigid. These carbon fibre plates are likely to be useful to take care of hallux rigidus and other conditions such as turf toe which need to limit the movements with the joint. The research evidence is that they are pretty good at reducing the pain in the hallux joint with these kinds of conditions. A different way to manage the discomfort from the osteoarthritis and hallux rigidus could be to just use footwear which might be much more rigid through the front foot. The more bendable the sole of a shoe is, the greater that the big toe or hallux joint will flex and also the more likely it is to be painful if walking. There are a few types of footwear, especially the Hoka athletic shoes, that contain a rocker and extra padding built into them which are particularly beneficial at that. The consequence of the rocker in these types of footwear would be that the big toe does not have to flex just as much as the feet rocks forward over the rocker. A pedorthist or footwear maker can add a rocker to several various kinds of footwear to obtain the same task.

If you have hallux rigidus or osteoarthritis of the big toe or hallux joint, you can also find alternatives in the short term to deal with the pain and choices in the long term to control the movement of the big toe joint so that it is not quite as uncomfortable.