I have had endless problems after the fusion of my big toe 4 years ago. The main problem is lack of mobility and needing to wear rocker type shoes all the time. If I had known the downside truly I would never have gone ahead as the pain I get trying to wear normal shoes - even totally flat sensible walking shoes are uncomfortable. At the time I was told I would not be able to wear heels above a certain height but that just isn't true - no normal shoes feel right and dancing is painful except in mbt type shoes. I was told by a podiatric surgeon (Steve Kriss) that this could be reversed and I could have joint replacement surgery - am very nervous to have more surgery in case it fails and creates more problems. Also the established orthopaedic surgeon's attitude is extreme scepticism. What have you done so far?

The socket in my big toe, wore out yrs ago. Hyper-extended gives me a lot of sharp pain.

I was given 3 options.. Cortisone injections ( which do not last very long ) Surgery, and or, Live with it.. I chose the latter

Those of you who have this problem . It is most unfortunate. The joint where your big toe meets the ball of the foot is, and should be, the most used joint within your whole body when dancing. To not use that joint means you are dancing from a flat foot without rolling onto the toe. To dance at a competitive level it is absolutely necessary that the correct technique be used.

All the research I did warned (orthopaedics obviously and podiatrists) that the gold standard for arthritis for anyone active or young is fusion as all implants fail - longest life 10 years and many fail within 2-5 if you are very active. Plus it still causes mechanical issues with the gait and strange compensations the foot does just like with a fusion, so it sounds wonderful but it must be shown to work on active people for many years before you can trust the results. I was horrified with my issue because I went in for a bone spur cleaning and came out with a fusion - because there was "zero cartilage" left - but I, like many on this site, would have chosent to "live with it" - I only agreed to any surgery at all because it was the attempt to clean it up to give more life to the joint. There is no data on "active" yound people who get fusions after 2 years. There is all this information on how they can "run half marathons" which at first gave me hope but I have since had a PT wanr me that any activity will destroy all the other toes and joints in the foot after a fusion - so I am begging for any source of info on these "runners" post fusion after year 10, 15, 25 etd - who cares about year 1-3, you can do anything for a couple years but that proves nothing abut longevity. Does anyone have any 10-30 year post fusion activity stories? Right now I can wear heels, run, raise up on the ball of my foot (8 months post op) BUT I won't do it any longer because of my new fear that over time this is going to cause all the rest of my foot to fall apart.

Posted by 40 year old previous dancer - fusion--

That is mortifying! I assume you must have (maybe unknowingly) signed something prior to surgery allowing the surgeon to make that call while you were under(?) Otherwise it seems like you might have a legitimate lawsuit against him.
I'm glad I read this anyway; *IF* I ever opt to have surgery I will require my surgeon to put in writing that he will NOT fuse my joint under any circumstances.
I'm so sorry that happened to you.
I still research this issue online occasionally; I have found little information as far as personal accounts of various MTP-related surgeries from athletes, and even less info specific to dancers. Suprising since the problem does not seem uncommon. Will keep looking though.

Does anyone have any experience with an artificial joint for the big toe? That's what my doctor is recommending since I refused the option of fusion. I am under the impression that I'll be able to continue dancing about a month after the implant surgery. If you have an implant, how much mobility do you have in your toe?

A little bit about my toe trouble: There's no cartilage left in the joint. I had hallux rigidus (arthritis of the big toe joint with a bone spur). Seven months ago, I had a cheilectomy and osteotomy, (cleaning out of the joint and shortening of the big toe). But the bone has deteriorated, presumably due to arthritis.

If anyone is going through something similar, I'd be very interested to hear about it. Thanks!

I had a joint replacement done to my second toe (not big toe). It has been 6 yrs now and it's great!
I'm now facing fusion of both big toes because previous surgerys have failed. I'm also a dancer & worry about it but have run out of options.
I'm being told that with proper physio I will be able to continue my activities so keeping fingers crossed.

I've just had a fusion of my big toe- 3 weeks ago. My mtp joint was completely gone and bones spurs were all over making my joint lumpy and painful to find shoes. I had no movement in the joint for at least two years now. Only a few shoes including rocker type soles were comfortable. Many flats were not comfortable due to the height of the shoe at the joint. The pressure was painful. The surgeon promised the pain would be gone and the joint cleaned up and the two bone ends fused together. No movement didn't concern me since I've had none for awhile now. The pain after surgery was reduced considerably by taking the docs advice to keep it elevated as much as possible for the first two weeks. I hardly needs pain killers. I am now wearing the Darco ortho-wedge offloading healing shoe. It took a week to get used to wearing it. Crutches helped. You need to wear a higher shoe on your good foot to keep hips even. You need to keep it elevated for the first few days until your walking time increases. I'm curious to see how the next months will go once I am back to regular shoes. His walking will be less one joint, even though that joint was pretty much destroyed anyway.

Hi did you end up having the fusion surgery done? I am scheduled this year and am very nervous as I use to run and dance. Afraid of not being able to do that anymore.

don .t do it, not a fusion your big toe will not bend at all you can never wear heels again, i have been in flip flops for a year the m0st heel will probably be 1 inch to inch 1/2. its sad i love heels all my life and now i cant wear its not true that you can wear 3 inch heels its not true