How To Treat Hallux Rigidus

Hello I'm Charles Goldman, a qualified Chiropodist/Podiatrist. I run “The Foot Pad” chiropody and physical therapy clinic in (Sounds like: Hoven), Central London. Today I'm gonna talk to you about various foot problems and their treatment.

We're going to talk now about the treatment of Hallux Rigidus. Hallux Rigidus is a condition of the big toe the hallux. When you have flat feet for example, you often strike the ground really hard on the inside of the foot this forces the hallux joint upwards.

Normally in a neutral position the hallux itself or the hallux joint has a movement of several millimeters up and down below and above the neutral point. When you're constantly bang this joint upwards it stops moving down so much and you have something called Hallux Limitus, this can often develop on to Hallux Rigidus where the joint doesn't move at all this can lead to painful conditions on the joint itself and sometimes corns and blisters can occur. The way to treat this is to stop the toe banging the ground, now this can involve getting orthotics or arch supports with a wedge that supports the big toe joint this simulates contact with the ground.

This can help prevent the pain from contact with the ground. Often this could also involve breaking down of the fatty pad over the joint which helps cushion the joint so you would sometimes need a cushion pad as well to prevent the impact. Sometimes due to the loss of dorsiflexion right for movement of the big toe joint you can develop an existosis which is a bony growth on top of the joint and this can be very painful so it is very important to deal with this as soon as possible.

And this is the way we would treat Hallux Rigidus. .