Big toe joint very stiff and painful - what will help?

[ElizabethBathory]

Over the last few weeks the big joint of my big toe has got increasingly stiff and painful, and now the toe doesn't bend back far enough to walk properly (which is making my ankle hurt as I'm walking funny!) Ibuprofen tablets aren't doing anything, and I've tried ibuprofen gel but it's made it feel stiffer if anything. I'm only 31, but I'm guessing it's just wear and tear - I have fairly hypermobile joints which occasionally cause problems, but not often. Toe thing is v annoying as I have to walk a lot

Could you have gout?

Another vote for gout. You need a blood test and gout-specific medication

I thought of gout then decided it probably wasn't that - not sure why?! I'm not overweight at all but I suppose that doesn't rule it out - will get checked then.

I agree with you - it doesn't sound like gout. I too was diagnosed with big toe arthritis earlier this year, normal wear and tear unfortunately. I never took painkillers as the pain wasn’t' constant, but started taking omega 3 and Vitamin D to slow down the process. It may not help at all but it makes me feel better knowing that I'm doing something about it.

It was hard to believe, when I was in the most amount of pain, that symptoms come and go and can disappear for months, but I've had it for a almost a year now and the summer was definitely better. Still not painful now even though the weather turned quite damp. But watch this space...this time next week I could be in a lot of pain again:-(.

One tip perhaps to wear a nice thick pair of socks in bed to keep your toes snug and warm. My toe was always worse in the morning. But, of course, it's not just the cold that brings on the pain but also the lack of movement during the night. So believe it or not, (moderate amount of) walking and exercise is good for this condition.

Thanks for your posts Khm, that's v helpful. I did read online that it's not unusual for big toe arthritis to start really early, in your 20s. And it's funny you should say that about movement, as it's really painful when I wake up in the night and improves throughout the day (though not fast enough atm :() Ah well, could be worse, am just annoyed as I am meant to be going walking at the weekend!

I've got this in both feet. One of them I had operated on and it is much better than it was before. Worth discussing with the doctor to see if that would be an option for you.

Get your feet checked over. I had pain in the instep of one foot and in the big toe of the other. Diagnosis was plantar fasciitis (sp??). I now wear support insoles and have very little discomfort.

I had it from age 17. By mid 20s got it diagnosed and given inserts to wear in my shoes. After a year or so I never had any more issues.

Diagnosed as arthritis gobbin?

Diagnosed as 'hallux rigidus' which just means stiff big toe lol but yeah is a form of arthritis. Google it.

Had biomechanic tests done by chiropody school here in Cardiff which helped diagnose it.

It could be that your foot is functioning abnormally (for want of a better term). If your arch reduces when you weight bear you can jam the big toe. Over time it gets stiff - called functional hallux limitis. This eventually leafs to hallux rigidus.
My advice would be to see a musculoskeletal skeletal podiatrist either privately or even better - in a teaching hospital. They can prescribe orthoses to improve your foot function and eliminate the problem with the big toe. In the meantime wear supportive decent footwear.

Thanks for the advice guys. It's getting better now - it eventually went completely stiff, couldn't bend it upwards at all, which was bizarre and made steps particularly tricky! But now it has more movement and feels much better Random. Hallux rigidus is an apt name, if it is that.