What is Foot Arthritis and How Do We Treat This Condition?

Not all forms of foot arthritis are chronic or progressive. Instead, you may develop gout, a condition that comes in flares, often suddenly and in the middle of the night. With this type of arthritis, the first symptoms usually develop in your big toe. When a gout flare comes on, you wake up to a red, swollen toe that’s so tender, even the touch of your bed sheets feels agonizing. 

What causes gout to flare? This type of foot arthritis develops when uric acid builds up in your blood, causing the formation of crystals that can surround your joints. When that happens, pain and inflammation develop, too. 

Your big toe joint is often the first victim of gout, but this type of arthritis can lead to other types of joint pain as well. Instead of treating gout pain, we try to help our patients prevent flares by carefully monitoring their weight and diet, two major contributors to gout risk. 

Still, if you develop gout pain, we can provide immediate relief with medication; then, you speak to your healthcare provider about taking medications to prevent future flares.  Changes to your lifestyle, such as increasing your water intake, limiting alcohol, and avoiding purine-rich food such as shellfish and red meat can also help you avoid gout flares. 

Finally, don’t forget to get moving, since an active lifestyle can help you reach and maintain a healthy weight, reducing your risk for obesity-linked gout flares.

Rheumatoid and Psoriatic Arthritis 

Psoriatic Arthritis [PsA]and rheumatoid arthritis are both types of autoimmune disease. Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disorder that affects many joints, especially the ones in your hands and feet. Symptoms include pain, swelling and joint inflammation, along with skin-related symptoms. In some cases, when you have Psoriatic Arthritis, you may also develop palmoplantar psoriasis. This condition causes the soles of your feet to become cracked or scaly, and can cause blister-like sores to form on the bottom of your feet.  

Even worse, PsA triggers complications such as enthesis inflammation, targeting the connective tissue between bones, tendons and ligaments. When you develop enthesitis, it can impact your Achilles tendon, affecting ankle mobility and even challenging your ability to walk or climb the stairs.  

When we treat PsA, we can address individual symptoms. If PsA causes skin changes on your feet, topical steroids or UV treatment can clear up this disease manifestation. To deal with any related pain, we can prescribe rest, anti-inflammatories and steroids until you experience relief. 

Finally, we’ll need to get your autoimmune disease under control. For many patients, that will involve taking a class of medications known as TNF inhibitors that may prevent future PsA flares.