Hallux limitus is a condition of the joint where your big toe meets your foot. Pain and stiffness in this joint make your big toe harder to bend. Treatments include rest, ice, anti-inflammatory drugs, proper footwear, orthotics, physical therapy and corticosteroid injections. Surgery is considered if other treatments don’t relieve your pain.

It’s a type of degenerative arthritis that affects the joint where your big toe (hallux) attaches to your foot. This condition happens when the cartilage covering the ends of the bones in your big toe joint is damaged or lost. This causes the joint space to narrow. It can also lead to painful bone spurs. These are small, pointed growths on a bone.