We often get caught up in sleep, hygiene, and skincare routines, but we hardly think about our feet. We just expect them to carry us through all those miles on hard surfaces without any concern for how they actually work. This mindset is fine—until we start feeling those annoying aches, especially on our morning commute. What begins as a little discomfort can turn into bigger issues down the line. This wear and tear, called osteoarthritis, is just a natural result of all that friction over time. At Gotham Footcare, we believe taking care of your joints is super important. By focusing on how your joints work, we can help keep you moving comfortably and confidently through the city.

The Mechanics of Erosion

What is Foot Arthritis?

Your foot contains 33 joints, all acting as shock absorbers for the impact of your daily steps. Arthritis is the failure of that suspension system. It occurs when cartilage—the smooth, gliding surface between bones—wears down, forcing raw bone surfaces to grind against one another. This friction causes joint inflammation, stiffness, and significant pain.

While there are over 100 variations, our Midtown and Downtown clinics primarily treat the following forms of foot and ankle arthritis:

Osteoarthritis: This is the most common type of degenerative joint disease. It is caused by mechanical wear and tear over time, leading to the gradual erosion of the joint surface.
Post-Traumatic Arthritis: A form of degenerative arthritis that develops years after an injury. Past joint dislocations or ligament tears can destabilize the joint mechanics, accelerating degeneration.
Rheumatoid Arthritis: An autoimmune disease where the body’s immune system attacks the joint lining, causing chronic swelling and deformity.
Gouty Arthritis: Caused by uric acid crystals forming in the joint, leading to sudden, intense discomfort and redness, often in the big toe.

The Progressive Trap Cartilage does not regenerate. If you ignore the friction, the body attempts to stabilize the loose joint by building defensive bone spurs (osteophytes). These hard calcifications eventually block movement and physically distort the aesthetic contour of the foot.

Identify the Signal

Common Symptoms & Early Warning Signs

Pain is the obvious indicator, but functional limits often appear first. Patients often report the same symptoms developing slowly before becoming a chronic condition:

Start-Up Stiffness: The affected joint feels rusted shut during your first few steps in the morning but loosens as you move.
Reactive Swelling: Intermittent puffiness around the midfoot or ankle, specifically after a long day in dress shoes.
Bone Spurs: Hard, bony ridges forming on the top of the foot or big toe joint.
Limited Range of Motion: A physical reduction in how far you can flex or point your foot.
Shoe Intolerance: A sudden inability to wear rigid leather or heels without sharp, biting pain.

TThe Diagnostic Standard

How We Diagnose Arthritis

We start by checking out the timeline of your symptoms and taking a look at your family history and any past traumas you might have had. During the physical exam, we’ll move the joint around to see if there’s any fluid buildup, warmth, or specific issues that might be blocking your movement. To get an accurate arthritis diagnosis, we use high-quality digital X-rays to see if there’s any narrowing in the joint space. If things are a bit more complicated, we might also use an MRI or CT scan to take a closer look at the soft tissues. Sometimes, we even use a tiny camera called an arthroscope to get a direct view inside the joint.

Preserve Your Range

Benefits of Treatment?

Our priority is joint preservation. The window to save a functional joint is finite; early intervention allows us to arrest cartilage damage before fusion becomes the only remaining option.

Relieve Pain

The main aim is to ease that nagging pain that gets in the way of your daily activities.

Restored Mobility

We want to get your joint back to feeling normal and pain-free so you can walk, run, and explore the city without any issues.

Kinetic Protection

When you're in pain, it messes with your walking. If you start limping to keep pressure off a sore toe, you end up putting more stress on your knees, hips, and lower back. Fixing what's causing the pain is key to stopping that whole chain reaction.

Eligibility & Safetyl

Am I a Candidate for Treatment?

Many patients believe that surgery is the immediate solution, but that's seldom the first option we consider. You may qualify for treatment if persistent pain affects your ability to walk or influences your choice of footwear. In the early stages, when cartilage loss is minimal, we prioritize conservative treatments aimed at relieving pressure and preventing further damage. However, in more severe cases, where the joint space is bone-on-bone or bone spurs obstruct movement, surgical intervention becomes necessary to clean or reconstruct the joint.

The Gotham Protocol

Your Treatment Options

We adhere to a customized treatment plan, starting with biomechanical adjustments and advancing to surgery only when structural repair is necessary.

Level 1

Conservative Management Proper treatment often begins without a scalpel. We utilize a range of non-invasive therapies to affect the joint mechanics positively:

Custom Orthotics & Braces: We use 3D digital scanning to build inserts that redistribute pressure away from the arthritic joint. Specialized braces can also stabilize the ankle to reduce sheer force.
Physical Therapy: Targeted exercises strengthen the muscles surrounding the joint, providing better support and improving mobility.
Oral Medications: Anti-inflammatory medication (NSAIDs) can help manage daily symptoms.
Steroid Injections: Precise corticosteroid injections provide powerful, targeted relief for acute flare-ups and joint inflammation.

Level 2

Minimally Invasive Surgery When more severe cases do not respond to conservative care, Dr. Cunha and the team utilize minimally invasive techniques.

Cheilectomy: A "cleanup" procedure where we remove bone spurs and debris to restore the joint’s ability to glide.
Arthroplasty: Reshaping or replacing the joint surfaces to eliminate bone-on-bone friction.
Total Joint Replacement: For advanced osteoarthritis, we may replace the damaged joint with a prosthetic to maintain motion.
Arthrodesis (Fusion): For end-stage arthritis, we fuse the joint in a functional position. This eliminates pain completely while maintaining a stable foot for walking.

Healing & Timeline

Recovery & Downtime

Bed rest is incompatible with this city. Our minimally invasive protocols are engineered to stabilize the foot internally, allowing you to remain mobile while you heal. You will likely walk out of the surgical suite. For procedures like cheilectomies, you are weight-bearing in a protective boot immediately. Most professionals return to desk work within 3 to 5 days. We get you back into sneakers around weeks 4 to 6. Maintaining a stable weight and staying active is crucial for overall health and reduces the load on your joints during recovery.

Precision & Privacy

Why Choose Gotham Footcare?

In a city saturated with options, Gotham Footcare stands out by merging aesthetic precision with logistical efficiency. We strictly prioritize minimally invasive techniques, utilizing fluoroscopy—live X-ray guidance—to ensure exact joint correction while concealing incisions within natural skin lines. This commitment to streamlining your experience extends to our facilities in Midtown, Downtown, and Tribeca, which are fully equipped to handle every stage of treatment—from digital imaging and 3D scanning to surgery—under a single roof.

Investment Transparency

Cost of Arthritis Treatment

Pricing reflects the complexity of the correction required for your anatomy. Most arthritis treated at our center, including X-rays, consults, and surgery, is considered a functional medical necessity covered by insurance. We accept most major plans and handle the verification of out-of-network benefits for you. Out-of-pocket costs typically apply to custom orthotics or specific regenerative injections. We provide a full financial breakdown prior to treatment.

Next Steps

Don’t let joint pain dictate your schedule. Schedule your consultation at Gotham Footcare today by calling (212) 991-8998 or booking online to restore your mobility.

Foot ArthritisFrequently Asked Questions

Can arthritis be permanently cured?

While there is no "cure" for the underlying condition of osteoarthritis, the symptoms can be permanently managed. Surgical procedures like fusion or replacement can permanently eliminate the pain in the affected joint.

Is walking bad for foot arthritis?

Movement is actually necessary for joint health, as it circulates synovial fluid to the cartilage. The goal is pain-free walking. We correct the biomechanics so you can maintain a healthy lifestyle without grinding the joint.

What is the difference between gout and regular arthritis?

Gouty arthritis is metabolic; it is an infection-like inflammatory response caused by crystals. Osteoarthritis is mechanical wear and tear. We treat both, but the treatment options differ significantly.

Do you use metal screws?

If a fusion or fracture repair is needed, we may use small, low-profile titanium hardware. These are designed to remain permanently and typically do not set off airport detectors or cause sensation.

Your First Step to Getting Better

At Gotham Footcare in NYC, we strive at recognizing your individual needs and desired outcomes while formulating an effective and personalized treatment plan with the highest quality care available.

What sets Gotham Footcare apart from other podiatry offices is our dedication to providing you with the education you need to make well-informed decisions regarding your care. Regardless of what your foot and ankle trouble may be, at Gotham Footcare our team will work tirelessly to help you feel better. At Gotham Footcare, we help you put your best foot forward.

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Foot Arthritis Treatment In NYC