Big Toe Arthritis

Arthritis of the big toe joint is a common condition causing forefoot pain. It can be associated with a prior injury, having been in a manual job, or associated with a bunion.

The treatment depends on the severity, with milder cases needing a tidy up with bone removal, and more advanced cases needing either a partial toe replacement or a fusion. Replacement preserves motion, but technology hasn’t succeeded in providing an extremely reliable solution. The Cartiva implant partial toe replacement is probably the best option if you want to preserve motion, but the success rate is around 70% with a proportion needing conversion to a fusion later down the line. However it is an option if the thought of fixing the toe rigidly is not something you are willing to have. A fusion is considered the gold standard treatment with fusion success in 90-95% of cases.