Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Toe Injuries and Disorders
Fourteen of the 26 bones in your feet are in your toes. The toes, particularly your big toe, help you move and keep your balance. Playing sports, running, stubbing your toe, and dropping something on your foot can damage your toes. Wearing shoes that are too loose or too tight can also cause toe problems. Certain diseases, such as severe arthritis, can cause toe problems and pain. Gout often causes pain in the big toe.
Common toe problems include :
- Corns and bunions
- Ingrown toenails
- Sprains and dislocations
- Fractures (broken bones)
Treatments for toe injuries and disorders vary. They might include shoe inserts or special shoes, padding, taping, medicines, rest, and in severe cases, surgery.
It sits within Bones, Joints and Muscles and Injuries and Wounds.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Toe Injuries and Disorders
11 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Performance and Safety Evaluation of Inion CompressOn Screw in Foot and Ankle Surgeries. PMCF InvestigationInion Oy
- The Effect of Targeting the Plantaris Muscle-tendon in Surgical Correction of Ankle Equinus in ChildrenUniversity of Alberta
Research already completed
- Post-Market Registry of AURYON Atherectomy Device in Subjects Affected With Infrainguinal Peripheral Artery DiseaseAngiodynamics, Inc.
- CGM and DFU Healing Post-dischargeEmory University
- Opiate Free Multimodal Pain Pathway in Elective Foot and Ankle Surgery: A Prospective StudyPrisma Health-Midlands
- Study of the Value of Using a Honey Dressing Compared to the Use of a Standard Dressing on the Toe Amputation Wound in the Diabetic PatientCentre Hospitalier Metropole Savoie
- Cutaneous Manifestations of Coronavirus Disease 2019(COVID-19).Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre
- Post Approval Study to Evaluate the Effectiveness and Safety of Cartiva Implant in the Treatment of OA of the Great ToeCartiva, Inc.
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Diagnosis and Tests
- Foot ProblemsAmerican Academy of Family Physicians
- Search the Foot and Ankle Conditions (Interactive Foot Diagram)American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons
Treatments and Therapies
- Bunionette Deformity CorrectionAmerican Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society
- Frequently Asked Questions about Bunion SurgeryAmerican College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons
- Replantation of digits - seriesMedical Encyclopedia
Related Issues
- 10 Points of Proper Shoe FitAmerican Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society
- Bone HealingAmerican College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons
Genetics
- Bunion: MedlinePlus GeneticsNational Library of Medicine
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: BunionNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Toes, Toe Joint. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Toe Injuries and Disorders, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.