I've been having some constant pain around my big toe (right foot) - x-rays showed that I have big toe arthritis. The doctor recommends no running and surgery. Any experience? Is it true that conservative treatments are not very effective for this condition? How bad is the surgery and the recovery period? Any input would be appreciated.
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Re: Help withi Big Toe Arthritis [Undertrained]
[ In reply to ]
my big toe arthritis pain comes and goes, it sounds like you may be suffering more than me. For me - Aleve helps, I have also found that DMSO provides some level of relief as well.
Re: Help withi Big Toe Arthritis [Undertrained]
[ In reply to ]
It depends on how bad your DJD of the 1st MPJ is. Conservative treatment works fine in stage I (but I'll assume you are not if surgery is being recommended).
Most surgeons use a modified "Regnauld" classification system and base treatments off of that (and helps to know how bad the joint is when seeing someone else, etc.). Here is an older UK quick web paper that might help you some:
http://webservices.sitebuilder.customerstreet.com/...20osteoarthritis.pdf
Recovery period varies tremendously between the different types of surgeries. Surgery selection also varies based on your activity level, male vs. female (changes decision of joint implant vs. fusion), age, etc. Only your doc (and nothing wrong with a couple of opinions) can answer those questions for you. You might have one poster here who had a simple cheilectomy that was back running within 6 weeks, but another had an arthrodesis who has trouble run 2 years later - yet both had surgery for "great toe joint arthritis"
____________________________________
Fatigue is biochemical, not biomechanical.
- Andrew Coggan, PhD
Most surgeons use a modified "Regnauld" classification system and base treatments off of that (and helps to know how bad the joint is when seeing someone else, etc.). Here is an older UK quick web paper that might help you some:
http://webservices.sitebuilder.customerstreet.com/...20osteoarthritis.pdf
Recovery period varies tremendously between the different types of surgeries. Surgery selection also varies based on your activity level, male vs. female (changes decision of joint implant vs. fusion), age, etc. Only your doc (and nothing wrong with a couple of opinions) can answer those questions for you. You might have one poster here who had a simple cheilectomy that was back running within 6 weeks, but another had an arthrodesis who has trouble run 2 years later - yet both had surgery for "great toe joint arthritis"
____________________________________
Fatigue is biochemical, not biomechanical.
- Andrew Coggan, PhD
Re: Help withi Big Toe Arthritis [rroof]
[ In reply to ]
Thank you RRoof and Tmiles.
I am a woman in 40s - The foot doctor said that there is a lot of joint damage with bone spurs - and that cartilege is very thin. Not sure what stage it is. I can't wear any heels and feel pain with long walking and running and sometimes when I accidentally bend my toe. Biking seems OK as long as my cadence is not super fast. She recommended surgery, but warned that recovery can take several months. This happened very suddenly - last October when I woke up one day with sharp toe pain. The burning pain became less acute, but the swelling never went away. Probably worth making an appt with a different doctor to get a second opinion.
I am a woman in 40s - The foot doctor said that there is a lot of joint damage with bone spurs - and that cartilege is very thin. Not sure what stage it is. I can't wear any heels and feel pain with long walking and running and sometimes when I accidentally bend my toe. Biking seems OK as long as my cadence is not super fast. She recommended surgery, but warned that recovery can take several months. This happened very suddenly - last October when I woke up one day with sharp toe pain. The burning pain became less acute, but the swelling never went away. Probably worth making an appt with a different doctor to get a second opinion.
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Undertrained: Jun 18, 12 15:07
Oh I feel your pain. I had the same issue this winter and it was a very, very painful injury. Luckily, mine wasn't so bad--three months of no running got me back on track. I also have been doing a PT exercise for my toe 4-5 times a day since, it's very difficult to describe but basically I pull the toe "out" (away from my foot) lightly and rotate it 10 times. Ultimately in addition to having joint arthritis, I found that my running and work shoes were aggravating the problem and moving to a different pair of running shoes with a wider toe box helped me. Unfortunately, I can no longer wear almost all of my leather shoes.
I'm really surprised it is bothering you cycling at ANY cadence. I would see if another pair of very stiff cycling shoes might help you.
Also, when rroof was kind enough to look at my x-rays (God Bless him, what a great guy), he also advised that there was an orthotic that runs the entire length of the shoe that can help with this issue. I would have gone that route but ended up not having to.
Good luck.
I'm really surprised it is bothering you cycling at ANY cadence. I would see if another pair of very stiff cycling shoes might help you.
Also, when rroof was kind enough to look at my x-rays (God Bless him, what a great guy), he also advised that there was an orthotic that runs the entire length of the shoe that can help with this issue. I would have gone that route but ended up not having to.
Good luck.