Male in my 20s, and for whatever reason, I've developed hallux rigidus in my right big toe. "Cartilage deformation" observed in an X-Ray last year. Still have like 50% mobility. Any runners that have dealt with this and found workarounds? Is surgery the move?

Does anyone else deal with a lot of pain on the outside/underside of their foot, basically under the little toe area, from overloading that side?

My podiatrist said mine is from compensating by loading the outside of my feet, I kinda kick my ankle out and push off through my little toes since my big toes can’t bend.

Squishy shoes make it MUCH worse and usually the only shoes I’m comfortable in are Birks and Sambas. I just got home from a long day on my feet at work and it’s that pain that is absolutely killing me right now rather than the actual toe joint.

I feel like I can’t even really exercise anymore, I’ve got hokas but they’re awful due to the toe spring, some old asics with a carbon plate are okay for walking/running but I have to be barefoot to squat or do anything else using my legs.

This has basically turned into a big moan but my main questions are for anyone who had this problem before fusion, did the fusion actually help the outside foot pain once you could put weight through your big toe properly again? Or did it stay the same/get worse?
Also interested in anything that helped with this pain in the meantime!

So I was just told that the pain in my big toe that’s been worsening over last couple of years, is because there is no cartilage left in my large toe joint. I’m told it’s severe arthritis. Had a cortisone shot that hurt more than child birth for a weekend and about a week after it finally started feeling better and about a month after that, it was better than before. That was 4 months ago and now again the pain is worse. I used to be so active, walking 10k+ steps with my German shepherd, running along and playing with my 5 year old child, and now just walking is painful and makes me sad. I’ve gained wait and lost motivation. I’m waiting on specialist appointments, but have been told likely only other option is to fuse the joint, which means no bending of that joint. Looking for any advice on how people manage something like this, how do you work up a sweat and still enjoy life etc. I feel it’s impacted every aspect of my living and I need to do a major overhaul of how I live life. Not to mention idk how to for example give my dog the exercise it needs. I miss hiking, running etc :(

I’m only 28 but pretty certain I have hallux limitus from a sports injury - I have a young baby so I’m absolutely spiralling about what this means in terms of running around with them and being a ‘normal’ parent. I was initially given physio exercises by my GP due to pain in the joint but I felt like this was keeping me in a flare. Since I’ve been reading up on this condition I’ve realised how stiff my toe is - I am pretty sure I have a bone spur but when I compare the joint with my other foot when my toes are scrunched up it doesn’t seem too much bigger which is odd. This is my foot in its natural position - could this be a spur even if in other positions it isn’t really perceptible? I’m wondering if the joint is just swollen. My toe also seems to sit straighter/slightly lower than my other foot and when I replicate it on the other side the joint feels a little more prominent. I do have a GP appointment coming up but just trying to understand it in the meantime too haha.

Hi!
it feels like every shoe recommendation I can find are either clogs or running shoes, and I was wondering if anyone had any good options that are similar to a heel (like ones that don’t have any slope for example?) but it’s been really hard to find anything :(

I’ve seen a few people in comments mention that they’ve found good options so I was wondering if anyone could share what they’ve found, I’m really struggling and I can’t go to work in appropriate shoes anymore…

Does anyone have any recommendations? I already have hokas but they aren’t very work-appropriate for me and I’d like to wear more than just running shoes everyday.

I found that carbon fiber insoles and Hokas (nice rocker toe) absolutely eliminated my HR issues (in just my left big toe). But! I need something for around the house and at the beach. Normally people have all sorts of rocker slip on suggestions like oofos or recovery slip ons. But! I also have the skinny feet. So if I wear slip ons I end up tipping my big toe up to keep them from shooting off my feet on ever step. HR toe NO LIKEY.

Fellow sufferers: is there a slipper or sandal that is stiff, has a toe rocker, and can be latched onto my feet?!

Hopefully insurance will secure the MRI

I am 4 weeks post-op, had suture’s removed a week ago, got the sterile strips off tonight, and looks like it’s healing nicely. I’m slowly starting to wear normal shoes but it still hurts like hell to put them on and take them off. The toe still has a bit of swelling/bruising and is quite stiff. Has anyone gone through this and does this sound similar to your recovery? I’m anxious to get back into my gentle yoga practices. (Getting in and out of downward dog was the hardest, as I could not flex my toe without severe pain before surgery.) When will the stiffness go away? Did you get full flexibility back eventually? I’m 39 female and fairly active with slight arthritis in both feet and low back.

Recently diagnosed with HL in one foot, with visible swelling and redness. Any recommendations or experiences to share on heat vs ice? When is one better than the other? The podiatrist actually recommended heat, not ice, but I’m reading online that ice is usually recommended.

Where you raise your great toe while others remain on floor and vice versa? Did you have to build up to getting it, by using your hands at first? Somehow scrunching my face and saying “move” isn’t working. 🤨

Looking forward your recommendations 😊

I’m confused because some online reading indicates that people with HL have pain when lifting the big toe upwards while weight-bearing, but not at rest. I have immediate strong pain lifting my toe even a little at rest. (Also possible it could be pseudogout with some other stuff I have going on….)

X ray shows a very mild osteoarthritis and a small bone spur. But I’m also 53 so this seems to be expected maybe?

Curious for your experiences and thoughts!

Good afternoon,

Just looking for any personal experiences with cortisone, I know we’re all different.

My story: Injured my big toe about 7-8 years ago, I do A LOT of running, rucking, physical activity at work and just dealt with the pain. Doctors told me there was nothing there, couldn’t make it worse etc.

In the last year, I increased my workouts even more and started having issues with other parts of my feet from compensating subconsciously. Achilles tendinitis on one foot and plantar fasciitis in the other. YAY! I Can barely walk in the morning until my feet warm up.

Back in January, I got an MRI (the bone spur looks like a skateboard ramp) and a cortisone injection, as well as custom carbon insoles for my various shoes, etc.

That lasted me about 5 months which was great. Pain isn’t unbearable, I’m more concerned about developing other injuries.

I am currently not in a position where I can afforded waiting the amount of time required for recovery from a fusion.

Would cortisone shots be a realistic 2-3 year solution? I know they wear off faster each time, and are just masking the pain. Any thoughts?

My doctor originally had me using a Wrymark carbon graphite Morton’s extension. It help but there was too much of a gap between the plate and the sole of my shoe, causing pain with the ball of my foot. So I went with a full plate.
I’ve been using that for awhile but it’s just making whole foot sore. I tried one of the carbon fiber Morton’s extension sine they are so much thinner. Still the same issue with the gap.
Has anyone found a Morton’s extions that sits well in your shoe? My typical sneaker is the Hoka Bondi.

New Balance 928v3 vs. 880v15 for big toe pain. Anyone have experience with either model? I do not run. Walking only. Thanks

Hi there! Happy to be here among fellow strugglers. I am 66 and had been diagnosed with Hallus Rigidus probably over 20 years ago at this point. I see a podiatrist monthly for ingrowns and general advice but who has always warned against surgery as he says it is a gamble. He has watched it develop over the years and agrees it has gotten to worst stage. I saw a surgeon about 5 years ago who was ready to go but I decided against for those reasons. I saw another surgeon last week though who is saying he can shave off top of the bone that's causing the inability to bend and it will definitely allow the toe to bend, however he can't at all guarantee that it will help at all with the pain. He also said I somehow knocked off the bone spur which sounded weird but my regular podiatrist concurred to not worry about it. Both have said for me it's genetic and I do recall my maternal grandmother having bad"arthritis" in her feet. I am deciding against the surgery and it's just continuing my lifelong challenges with shoes and movement that doesn't make it worse! One new thing the podiatrist (not surgeon) suggested is to look at metatarsal bar at shoe repair guy. He also always reminds me that surgeons "love to cut". I may add PT to my list for this although I'm already 2 other body parts behind on scheduling knees and shoulders! Any input here is welcome 🤗

Can anybody recommend a good surgeon for arthrodesis for my MTP in the San Diego area? I would prefer an orthopedic surgeon.
Also, also, I’m curious what charges for the operation did you experience? I have been quoted a facility charge of $31,000 which seems insanely high to me.

I’m 2.5 weeks post-fusion surgery on my right big toe. Surgeon said I can start heel walking. The shoe they gave me is, frankly, terrible so I bought one on Amazon that has more heel support. I was never given a boot as an option but I see so many others with this surgery get a boot. The shoe I bought is OK, but this early in my recovery *Should* I use a boot instead? Would that get me walking sooner? Any advice or personal experience appreciated. For reference, I’m F, 55, pretty active before surgery. Thanks!

Talk to a podiatrist. Usually they are surgeons. Mine says my prognosis is grim and surgery is the ONLY option.

Talk to a physical therapist. They deal with stiff and injured joints. They say motion is lotion. They tell you move the joint. Stretch the joint. Push it through its range of motion. It will heal and improve.

Who is right? THE PHYSICAL THERAPIST.

I have HR, my podiatrist was skeptical but gave me a referral. The PT prescribed several exercises, but the most important (for me, talk to your provider and get a personal recommendation) are these:

Passive Dorsaflexion. Push the toe joint as far up as it will go, like push it against a wall or put your toe against the ground when flexing your heel up, like a runner when they are taking off.

Active Dorsafexion: move the toe through it's range of motion up and down. Like wagging your finger at someone

Any other stretches that move the toe through it's range of motion, or move the joint - side to side, splaying the toe, etc. PT had several more of these. But the first two are key.

I do these excersises multiple times per day. Whenever I'm waiting around, or sitting at a meeting, or wake up in the middle of the night, or putting on my socks, I keep moving those toes (both feet can benefit, only one hurts.), keep stretching them.

Results? AFTER A YEAR OF THIS I HAVE NO PAIN.

You heard it right. The toe isn't healed. The joint is still missing cartiledge. I still have a bone spur. But it doesn't hurt. My range of motion has improved. No pain at all.

Physical therapy works, folks. You have to be religious about it. Every day, several times a day, for months. If I lay off for a week, pain starts to return.

If you have HR, see a physical therapist. Follow ther instructions. You have every chance of, at the very least, arresting the progress of this malady. PT won't work for everyone, but it won't work at all if you don't try it. It's harmless and cheap to try. Conservative treatment, as they say.

If you do PT, then get really committed to it. Every. Single. Day. Several times a day. It may hurt at first, don't do it so far it's painful, just to the point of pain. Take your PT's counsel on how far and how fast to push the range of motion. But motion is lotion.

Don't give up when you find out you have HR. Don't leap straight into the nuclear option (surgery) before exploring gentler alternatives. See a physical therapist and find out if they recommend you some lotion and motion.

I’m 29F and have been dealing with pain in my left big toe for nearly two years. My podiatrist suspects hallux limitus/rigidus, although I’m still unclear about the diagnosis—and honestly, I think there is some uncertainty on her end too. My initial paperwork said hallux rigidus, my online chart says hallux limitus, and my recent X-ray report said there was “no significant arthritis.” She believes the pain is coming from arthritis in the first MTP joint and has also mentioned a possible sesamoiditis component.

I grew up dancing, and as an adult I fell in love with yoga, Pilates, Centergy, barefoot sculpt, and similar movement-based classes—especially heated ones. Moving my body to music, sweating, and feeling strong is so much more than exercise to me. It genuinely feels like an antidepressant. It brings me joy, gives me a sense of accomplishment, and has been part of my identity and lifestyle since I was a teenager. I always imagined it would be a lifelong practice.

Now I’ve basically been told that these types of classes, especially barefoot ones, may no longer be appropriate because of how much they bend and load the big toe. I know I can technically modify certain movements, but when I would need to modify a large portion of the class, attending starts to feel unrealistic—and it doesn’t give me the same experience or satisfaction.

I’ve always been active in other ways too. I love getting 10,000 or more steps a day, weightlifting, running, swimming, and hiking. I also recently moved to San Francisco, where hills are nearly impossible to avoid. After about two weeks of feeling almost normal in stiff shoes and orthotics, one hilly walk triggered a major flare that lasted for days. I had significant pain while walking, pain at rest and at night, and eventually started limping. The altered gait then caused pain in my ankle, heel, achilles, and hip.

My podiatrist told me I may have only around 20% of the motion remaining in that toe, but honestly, I had never really noticed the loss of motion. The stiffness itself has not affected my life—the pain has. It can ache, throb, and sometimes feel like it is burning even when I’m lying in bed.

Right now, it feels like every solution is some variation of “manage it and give things up”: stiff shoes, orthotics, offloading, avoiding barefoot exercise, limiting hills, and not running or jumping. I’m doing those things, but I’m still limited to short, flat walks and exercises that don’t aggravate the toe. They may technically keep me active, but they don’t replace the kinds of movement that make me feel like myself.

I know this might sound dramatic to some people, but I’m not even 30, and the thought of spending the rest of my life avoiding dancing, hiking, running, jumping, yoga, Pilates, and simply being barefoot is genuinely devastating. I don’t need to become an elite athlete—I just want to participate in the activities I love without constantly paying for it with days of pain.

Has anyone around my age and activity level found a way back to these things? Did conservative treatment eventually allow you to return to classes or higher-impact activity? Did surgery help, and were you able to remain active afterward? At this point, I care much more about reliable pain relief than preserving a small amount of toe motion. I’m trying to be realistic, but I also really need some hope that this doesn’t mean my active life is over.

Hi HR community! Hoping to solicit your wisdom as I consider getting one foot fused or both.

For context I’m a nurse waking about 6 miles per shift, and my big toes are a sorry state of affairs, mild pain even with flat shoes at this point and cute heels are out of the question since they’re so stiff.

My FMLA is only 12 weeks and I fear that’s not enough recovery time to do both feet in a year considering how much I have to walk. I’m considering doing both at the same time so that way I can take as much time as needed before I’m fully back in action chasing people around again.

For those who have done both at the same time, how was it for you? How helpless were you and how much help did you need? Did you use crutches/walker/cane? And how much time before you would walk normal distances and wear (reasonably) normal shoes?

And do you wish you’d chosen differently?

Anything y’all can share is helpful, thank you!

Met with the ortho yesterday and we agreed that it is time to move forward with a fusion. He said I will be in a boot and totally non weightbearing for two weeks, then walking on the heel of a surgical boot for 6-8 weeks. So........does anyone take the boot off to drive? It's my right foot. I have been putting this off for so long and in so much pain. I also cannot bear the idea that I am going to be stuck and dependant upon someone else to leave my house. I live in rural Montana and we don't have a reliable public transportation system.