The big toe of the human foot has responsibilities greater than what one can just naturally assume. To start things off, if a person’s big toe has any kind of trauma or injury and cannot be used properly, it is safe to say that the person will not be walking normally till the big toe problem is resolved. Referred to as the hallux when anatomically speaking, one of its main functions is to make sure the foot can carry out the walking process effortlessly and the whole body can advance forward as a natural consequence.
What happens when let’s say someone fractures their big toe (hallux)? Well for starters you will definitely see them limping around. Let’s think about this for a second… why can the person just not avoid using the big toe when walking or why can’t the FOUR OTHER TOES take over and have the person walk normally….? Well unfortunately for us, the human foot is not designed in such a way. In normal walking, from when your heel touches the ground to when your toes lift from ground before your foot is air borne, the last piece before the foot is air borne is the big toe managing to keep everything in balance and coordinating many internal muscles and tendons. If the big toe is not working properly so to say, then the entire transition of when the foot hits the ground to when it is lifted off the ground is thrown off and people can feel the effects of this get only progressively worse if left unattended. Pain can start from improper foot positions over time and cause tendons and ligament issues in the foot to become loose and potentially tear to having pain carried up the leg with stiffer and tighter muscles in the back of the legs and thighs holding them back from walking normally and being agile.
An injury to the big toe should never be ignored. It is not the same as when one jams a finger and waits for the pain and swelling to go away and live with a slightly bent finger, which is ever so common amongst basketball players. Consequences of ignoring big toe (in either of the foot) issues can continue to make ones’ walking progressively more painful and will limit the range of motion of the big toe which will continue to add more bad side effects of ignoring an injury to the hallux.
