Hi everyone. Former athlete here. At the age of 20, I started experiencing pain in my right big toe, and…

Hi everyone. Former athlete here. At the age of 20, I started experiencing pain in my right big toe, and around the same time I developed chronic muscle tightness in my calves. Over the years, this tightness gradually spread to my thighs, glutes, and lower back. The pain in my big toe and the muscle symptoms occur only during walking or running, not at rest. After an MRI evaluation, it was found that I have very advanced cartilage degeneration (hallux rigidus) in my right big toe joint, while my left foot shows no structural issues at all. After many years of conservative treatments, I'm now considering first MTP joint fusion surgery, together with proper gait rehabilitation.