A common problem involving the big toe is the formation of bunions. These are structural deformities of the bones and the joint between the foot and big toe, and may be painful. [7] Similar deformity involving the fifth toe is described as tailor's bunion or bunionette. In humans, the hallux is usually longer than the second toe, but in some individuals, it may not be the longest toe. There is an inherited trait in humans, where the dominant gene causes a longer second toe (" Morton's toe" or "Greek foot") while the homozygous recessive genotype presents with the more common trait: a longer hallux. [2] People with the rare genetic disease fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva characteristically have a short hallux which appears to turn inward, or medially, in relation to the foot. Gądek A, Liszka H, Wordliczek J. Postoperative pain and preemptive local anesthetic infiltration in hallux valgus surgery. Foot Ankle Int. 2015 Mar. 36 (3):277-81. [QxMD MEDLINE Link]. Traditional bunion surgery can be performed under local, spinal or general anesthetic. A person who has undergone bunion surgery can expect a 6- to 8-week recovery period during which crutches are usually required to aid mobility. An orthopedic cast is much less common today as newer, more stable procedures and better forms of fixation (stabilizing the bone with screws and other hardware) are used. Hardware may even include absorbable pins that perform their function and are then broken down by the body over the course of months. After recovery long term stiffness or limited range of motion may occur in some patients. Visible or limited scarring may also occur for patients.

Anatomical variants that predispose to the condition include a long first metatarsal bone, mal-alignment of the first MTP joint, and flat feet Ji L, Ding S, Zhang M, Colon Reyes K, Zhu M, Sun C. The Role of First Tarsometatarsal Joint Morphology and Instability in the Etiology of Hallux Valgus: A Case-Control Study. Foot Ankle Int. 2023 Aug. 44 (8):778-787. [QxMD MEDLINE Link]. Ice may be used for reducing pain and swelling. There are safety points to follow when you use ice: Miner S, et al. (2017). Conservative care recommendations for the stages of hallux limitus/rigidus. This type of surgery is also known as joint fusion. It’s used to treat advanced hallux rigidus involving severe joint damage.Vary your heel heights from day to day, one day wearing low heels and the next day slightly higher heels

caption id="attachment_18120" align="aligncenter" width="459"] Figure 3 - Radiographic changes of bilateral hallux valgus[/caption]Treatment may include proper shoes, orthotics, or NSAIDs. [2] If this is not effective for improving symptoms, surgery may be performed. [2] It affects about 23% of adults. [1] Females are affected more often than males. [2] Usual age of onset is between 20 and 50 years old. [1] The condition also becomes more common with age. [1] It was first clearly described in 1870. [1] Archaeologists have found a high incidence of bunions in skeletons from 14th- and 15th-century England, coinciding with a fashion for pointy shoes. [5] [6] Signs and symptoms [ edit ] Drawing of a bunion Arthroplasty: An arthroplasty is a joint replacement. Your surgeon will remove the damaged bone in your MTP joint and replace it with a “spacer” of donor tissue between the joint ends. Favinger JL, Porrino JA, Richardson ML, Mulcahy H, Chew FS, Brage ME. Epidemiology and imaging appearance of the normal Bi-/multipartite hallux sesamoid bone. Foot Ankle Int. 2015 Feb. 36 (2):197-202. [QxMD MEDLINE Link]. If the pain continues despite conservative management, surgery may be considered. There are a number of procedures possible dependent upon the symptoms you present with, the severity of the wear and tear within the The Old English term for toe is tā (plural tān). This is a contraction of tāhe, and derives from Proto-Germanic * taihwǭ (cognates: Old Norse tá, Old Frisian tāne, Middle Dutch tee, Dutch teen (perhaps originally a plural), Old High German zēha, German Zehe), perhaps originally meaning 'fingers' as well (many Indo-European languages use one word to mean both 'fingers' and 'toes', e.g. digit), and thus from PIE root * deyḱ-— 'to show'. [11] Hallux The big toe of a human