Arthritis in big toe, surgery & riding afterward

[gostelr]

Hello. Has anyone had experience of surgery to help fix arthritis in big toe & how it affected their riding post recovery?

Now I'm old & falling to bits beyond the stage where I can continue to ignore it, I'm researching which type of surgery would allow the best continuance of riding post surgery recovery but I'm not finding any info specifically referencing horse riding.

It seems like there are 2 main surgical options: either cutting away some bone around the joint, or fusing the joint together.

The joint fusing seems to be most recommended for continuance of more "active" lifestyles whereas the cutting away is recommended if you need to maintain some flexibility. I don't feel like I flex my big toe massively when I'm riding but I don't want to find out after the joint has been fused & it's too late to change my mind that it's actually a vital point of my balance & riding.

Thanks in advance for any experiences you can share.

 

[GreyMane]

Am interested too.
Dropped a massive wooden board on my big toe as a teenager and I think it fused itself. Rarely bothers me, but aches occasionally and on the very rare occasions I wear shoes with a heel it gives me gyp.
Affected toe doesn't want to do this any more

 

[still standing]

I don't have arthritis in my big toe but I had a very large bunion on the joint at the base, which was slowly getting worse so I had an operation to have the bunion removed about 3 years ago. The surgeon has a daughter who rode so he understood the requirements of that and left my toe flexible. He just cut away the bony growth of the bunion, stapled the tendon and put a tiny screw somewhere else at the base, but left it so the toe could move - just to say that very soon after the op I had to start a small flex up and down movement with the toe, to get it moving! So check that with your surgeon, I know yours would be for arthritis.

I really recommend having some flexibility as I can now use that foot/leg to push myself up from kneeling, as GreyMane has shown in the pic above (I do Pilates so that helps me with kneeling to standing exercises!) and walking distances is much easier as my foot now 'rolls' better from heel to toe.
For riding I have a better position as I can flex and keep the stirrup more towards my toe, compared to having in on the ball of my foot, which was tipping my seat forward.

 

[Bonnie Allie]

I have arthritis in both big toes and the joints where they attach to the foot. once you have surgery there is no going back. Fusion will make you walk funny as well. It will change your gait, potentially leading to transferred pain.

Ive invested a lot in understanding all my options so that I don’t need to go down the surgical route using physio, podiatrist, X-rays and MRI to gain a better understanding of how to manage this.

My findings which keep my pain free day to day and a little sore post riding:

Mobility is everything. I use GMB fitness programme for feet, ankles and calves daily to stay mobile in this area.

I run every second day - on grass only to reduce impact. Never run up hills as it puts too much bend in the sore joints. Walk of 6km on my non-running days.

Go to physio and get a mobility session specifically on those joints if I am beginning to feel pain.

Orthodics for my running shoes and riding boots to eliminate pronation that puts pressure on the sore joints.

Work shoes can only have 1inch heels, no gorgeous pointy toe shoes.

When riding my stirrups have a wide surface area to spread the pressure. Cavallo for jumping, HM for dressage.

Live on an anti-inflammatory diet and take star flower oil and TumerX daily.

When I was in significant pain the doctors wanted me to stop running and go down the surgery route. Sooooo glad I didn’t.

Everyone is different, but if you love an active life, I’ve found it manageable without surgery

 

[gostelr]

thank you so much for the information! I suspect mine is going to be too far gone to fix with less invasive intervention because of course I'd rather hop around on one leg for 2 years & really make a mess of things rather than see a doctor in a timely manner. But you've given me some food for thought to make all efforts to try & delay the inevitable for a bit longer

 

[gostelr]

re: the stirrups specifically what are you using for jumping? I've got a pair of acavello's I use which seem to be less crippling than any others I've tried. I couldn't find anything when I googled cavallo's but I'm in Canada if that makes a difference. The HM wide treads (I'm guessing that is the pair you are recommending) definitely look worth a try too. I've experimented using some endurance stirrups with a massively wide footbed in the past but they were just too clonky & annoying.

 

[Bonnie Allie]

Yes the HM wide treads are the ones I have that really help my poor feet as they are angled to help keep your heel deeper which I find prevents me from putting pressure on the sore area.

Sorry - my jumping stirrups are Acavello opera, I had the name wrong.

Couple of other things that might assist:

I moved to men’s riding boots as they are wider across the front and often square toed. Gave me so much pain relief as my pretty women’s boots were pressing on the joint being narrower.

Brooks Adrenalin GTS running shoes. I have 4 pairs and wear them everywhere, not just for running or walking. Made for pronating runners, they have a guard rail system in them to keep you very stable. Halved my pain in the early days when I was really hobbling around.

Finally - if I’m going to a jump comp or a jump clinic or x-country day, I will go to physio the day before to get a mobility session and then get strapped properly. Means I can ride pain free and then the pain is minimised the day after as well.

 

[Red-1]

My issue is Moreton's Neuroma, but still affects my toe and causes huge pain and lack of flexibility and pain.

The NHS would slice into my foot to mend it, but I was recommended to a private clinic who do a non invasive treatment by cryosurgery. Well, it is invasive, but only by a large needle. This will kill the nerve and nerve sheath. I believe this deadens the pain, as well, in my case, of removing the actual cause.

I didn't have the operation as mum was ill, now there is Corona, life is still too stressful etc.

Maybe a de-nerve would be better for you too? If you are interested I can PM the doctor.