Severe osteo-arthritis in big toe: Ouch

[Come_Shine]

Was just diagnosed, after having increasing pain for the past two years, with moderate to severe osteo-arthritis in both my big toes.

http://www.merckfrosst.ca/mfcl/en/patients/diseases/arthritis/osteoarthritis/toe/definition.html

I have ridden 30 years and this is probably related to the stress on this joint in the stirrups. I have been riding with flex stirrups and cheese graters for a number of years. I was wondering if changing irons or pads may be helpful to take some of the pressure of this joint?

Does anyone have any experience with this? Any suggestions for pain relief? Insoles? I use the rocker style shoes to walk in and they are great but, obviously, not suitable for riding in.

I would appreciate any feed-back or suggestions.

[tarynls]

Can you try a wide stirrup like the ones endurance riders use? Like this (there are others):

http://www.mossrockendurance.com/view_category.asp?category_ID=14

Might help distribute your weight across a larger portion of your foot & relieve your toes a bit.

[Addison]

Celebrex is the only thing that helps me with this problem. I have ridden in 4 way flex irons and am back to standard non flex irons but have experienced no difference in the pain level.

[Traum]

I have pretty severe OA in my big toe joints too. Both will probably need surgery at some point in the future. Interestingly, riding is about the only time I don’t have any pain there. I’m a nurse, so standing/walking is inevitable all day and some nights they are just in agony when I get home. I ride in plain old boring non-flex stirrups and white rubber pads. My pinky toes occassionally go to sleep but the big toes aren’t bothered. Strange.

[Come_Shine]

Thanks for the feed-back.

I’m a h/j rider, so not sure about the endurance stirrups. My friend mentioned something about some stirrup pads that are supposed to be able to increase circulation. Does anyone know anything about those? She wasn’t sure what they were called.

When I’m riding, my feet don’t hurt. I only thought of the relationship of how I ride to where I am developing the arthritis when I tried some new boots that didn’t bend much and I noticed how much I usually bend at that joint.

I know that I tend to ride with a short stirrup, toe in the irons (I know, terrible habit) and deep heels. With the cheese graters and flex stirrups, I could ride on my tip-toe with losing my stirrup and the flexi-stirrup allowed a really deep bend, so I can see how that joint could really be affected. I have switched to regular irons and sandpaper pads, so we’ll see if that makes a difference.

Thanks for the suggestion about the Celebrex. I’ll ask my doctor about that the next time I see her.

Traum: Have you thought about trying the rocker shoes? They have been a godsend for me. Plus, they are really ‘in style’ right now so you can find them at lots of places pretty inexpensively.

[Donkaloosa]

I don’t know about the rocker shoes, but I do recommend being properly fitted for whatever shoes you do wear. The off-the-rack shoes might seem to fit, or you think you wear a size whatever, but going to someplace really good (like a New Balance store) may make a huge difference. I’d been wearing New Balance shoes that didn’t fit right,although I didn’t know it — was put into shoes that DID fit, and the pain in my arthritic everythings (feet, ankles, knees, etc.) immediately was reduced by about 90%.

[Come_Shine]

I got the rocker shoes as a fluke when I forgot to take my regular shoes to a horse show. They were the first shoes I saw on sale at the first shoe store I went into.

They are hands-down the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn.

Bizarrely enough, it turns out that this style of shoe is actually recommended for this type of problem.

Donkaloosa: Do you have orthotics?

[medical_mike]

Military home foot

Get a wide stirrup and put it in the center of your foot.
Won’t fully relieve the pain, but will help.

REgards,
Medical Mike
Equestrian medical researcher
www.equicision.com

[Come_Shine]

Wow. I cannot believe the difference since I changed my stirrups. I am even able to wear regular walking shoes again.

[Addison]

Glad to hear you are feeling better. Which irons did you switch to?

[Come_Shine]

Just put my regular filis irons back on with the sandpaper pads.

I would still like to try the wider stirrups (like the WildKart Jin ones) if I can find some used under $200.

[mickeydoodle]

“turf toe” shoe inserts are designed for this problem and help lots of people, they can be custom or over the counter