Hallux Rigidus (Stiff Big Toe)
Hallux rigidus is a disorder of the joint located at the base of the big toe. It causes pain and stiffness in the big toe, and gets worse with time. Stiff Big Toe is actually a form of degenerative arthritis or wearing out of the cartilage. This joint is called the metatarsophalangeal, or MTP joint. It’s important because it has to bend every time you take a step. Since the most common site of arthritis in the foot, if the joint starts to stiffen, walking can become painful and difficult.
In the MTP joint, as in any joint, the ends of the bones are covered by a smooth articular cartilage. If wear-and-tear or injury damage the articular cartilage, the raw bone ends can rub together. A bone spur, or overgrowth, may develop on the top of the bone. This overgrowth can prevent the toe from bending as much as it needs to when you walk. The result is a stiff big toe, or hallux rigidus.
Because hallux rigidus is a progressive condition, the toe’s motion decreases as time goes on. In the beginning, with only minimal motion problems, the condition is called “hallux limitus.” But as the problem advances, the toe’s range of motion gradually decreases until it potentially reaches the end stage of “rigidus”— where the big toe becomes stiff, or what is sometimes called a “frozen joint.”
Hallux rigidus usually develops in adults between the ages of 30 and 60 years. No one knows why it appears in some people and not others. It may result from an injury to the toe that damages the articular cartilage or from differences in foot anatomy that increase stress on the joint.
If you find it difficult to bend your toe up and down or find that you are walking on the outside of your foot because of pain in the toe, see your doctor right away. Hallux rigidus is easier to treat when the condition is caught early. If you wait until you see a bony bump on the top of your foot, the bone spurs will have already developed and the condition will be more difficult to treat.
Wide Foot Topics
Aging Amputation Ankle Pain Arthritis Ball-of-foot-pain Blisters Boot Comfort Burning Feet Calcaneocuboid joints Calluses Circulatory disorders Claw Toe Cold Feet Corns Cracking Cuboid-fifth metatarsal Diabetes Dry heels Economy Class Syndrome Edema Erthromelalgia Exercise Fitting Shoes Flat feet Foot Odor Frostbite in Your Feet Fun Facts General care Gouty Arthritis Hallux Rigidus Hammer Toe Heel pain High Arches Itchy Feet Knee Pain Mallet Toe Metatarsalgia Morton’s Neuroma Morton’s Toe Nerve disorders Numbness Orthotics Osteoarthritis Over-The-Counter Treatments Overlapping Toes Over Pronation Pain caused by high heels Plantar Fasciitis Plantar warts Prevention Red Feet Rheumatoid arthritis Shin Splints Shoe Size Chart Side of Foot Pain Sinus tarsi syndrome Surgery Sweaty Feet Swollen Feet Tendonitis Thickening Toenails Tips Toenail fungus Toenails Uncategorized Warts Wide Foot Tips Winter Feet