Toe Arthritis

Arthritis of one or more of your toes refers to damage to the joints cartilage which is the smooth covering on the end of the bones. The cartilage is responsible for helping the bone ends glide over one another smoothly and absorb shock. Arthritis occurs when the cartilage becomes worn out, degrades or is injured as a result of previous trauma leading to deterioration of the joint surfaces. Arthritis also involves inflammation of the lining of the joints called the synovium. 

Symptoms of Toe Arthritis

If you have toe arthritis, you may experience:

• Pain around the joint effected that gets worse on bending the toe. This usually occurs with activities like walking, so as the toe bends during walking you will notice the pain.
• The joint may be swollen and red and can ache at rest once aggravated.
• As the condition progresses, you may notice the joint doesn’t bend as much as the adjacent toes or the same toe on the other foot.
• If a bony lump develops on one of the bone ends (called an osteophyte), it may rub in certain footwear and become painful. 

Injection Therapy

Ultrasound-guided Steroid  injection

An Ultrasound-guided steroid injection into the toe joint is used to reduce pain and inflammation. It is suitable if you have not responded well to previous interventions and NSAIDs have not helped the swelling and pain. After this treatment, we may still advise you off-load the joint with certain footwear or taping to give the steroid the best chance at reducing the inflammation. 

This can also be coupled with Hyaluronic acid injections but will depend on the size of the joint and long term goals. 

Hyaluronic acid injection

Ultrasound-guided Hyaluronic acid injections are used to treat mild to moderate osteoarthritis. If a steroid injection is not right for you, or you wish to try non-steroidal options, then Hyaluronic acid is an excellent place to start. It is not a drug so will not cause any interactions with other medications you take. It may also last longer than a steroid injection. It is not as powerful in terms of reducing inflammation however, so if you are in more pain, it may be worth combining with a steroid injection either at the appointment, or 1 week apart. 

Those who do not respond to the above treatment interventions and have more advanced stages of toe arthritis, may want to consider surgery.

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