Toe and foot pain are no joke — they can be very uncomfortable and affect your everyday activities. Gout and turf toe are two conditions that can cause pain and swelling of your big toe and its joints, reducing mobility. Although some of the symptoms may initially show up in the same ways, the underlying causes and treatments are different.
Knowing more about these conditions can help you know the difference between them and lead you to get the best treatment for your pain.
What is gout?
Gout is a general term that describes many different conditions. These conditions are caused by a build-up of uric acid. If your body is not excreting the uric acid, urate crystals form in your body’s tissues, typically around joints. This build-up of crystals causes a type of painful arthritis.
Certain conditions like blood and metabolism disorders or dehydration can cause your body to make too much uric acid. Additionally, kidney or thyroid conditions can make it harder for your body to remove excess uric acid. If your diet is high in purines, the breakdown of these natural chemical components of DNA and RNA can cause a build-up of uric acid.
Gout can be caused by:
- Uncontrolled diabetes
- High blood pressure
- use of diuretics
- obesity
Depending on the stage and severity of your gout, it may be treated in different ways. Treatment can include:
- medication, both over-the-counter and prescription
- lifestyle changes like reducing alcohol consumption and losing excess weight
- eating a nutritious diet
What is turf toe?
Turf toe, or hyperextension, is when you bend your big toe too far toward the top of your foot. It can cause a sprain of your toe or your ligaments surrounding it. Turf toe is a kind of metatarsophalangeal joint sprain, which means that at least one of your joints connecting your toe to the rest of your foot is injured.
Turf toe can happen during any sport or activity when your forefoot is on the ground with your heel up, and then you are pushed into a position of hyperextension of your toe. It most often occurs among football players on artificial grass. This is because the turf is harder and not as shock absorbent. Turf shoes also often have less protection in the forefoot because they tend to be more flexible.
Treatment for turf toe depends on the severity of the injury.
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