Non-surgical treatments are usually tried first. These may include changes in lifestyle or footwear, or the use of shoe padding to limit further damage. Physiotherapy might be useful in some cases. For pain management, analgesic and anti-inflammatory medications, injections, coldpacks or combination of the above may be used.

Surgical treatments vary, depending on how far the arthritis has progressed. For a patient who does not present joint degeneration, a cheilectomy (bone spur removal) or an osteotomy (surgical break of the bone) of the proximal phalanx and/or metatarsal bones may be performed. When the disease has advanced to the point that the cartilage has been lost, an arthrodesis (joint fusion) will be proposed. In an arthrodesis, the big toe joint is fused transforming a stiff painful joint into a pain free stiff joint. Other surgical options are resection or interpositional arthroplasty or joint replacement.