Joints
Metatarsophalangeal joints (artt. metatarsophalangeales)
The five joints between the metatarsal heads and the bases of the proximal phalanges. The first is the important one: the foot rolls over it at push-off, and the whole body load passes through it in the final phase of stance.
- Joint type
- Ball-and-socket joints (artt. sphaeroideae), in practice mostly flexion and extension
- Latin name
- Articulationes metatarsophalangeales
Movements, axes and normal values
| Movement | Plane | Axis | Normal range | End feel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extension | sagittal | transverse (mediolateral) | hallux 70-90 degrees, needed for normal roll-off | firm springy (ligament) |
| Flexion | sagittal | transverse (mediolateral) | hallux 30-45 degrees | firm springy (ligament) |
| Abduction | transverse | longitudinal | small and highly variable between people | firm springy (ligament) |
- Close-packed position
- Maximal extension
- Resting (loose-packed) position
- About 10 degrees of extension
- Capsular pattern
- At the hallux: extension limited more than flexion. At the other toes the reverse.
- Arthrokinematics
- The phalangeal base rolls and glides in the same direction over the metatarsal head. Extension of the hallux tensions the plantar aponeurosis and lifts the arch: the windlass mechanism, which stiffens the foot at push-off without muscle work.
- Stability
- The collateral ligaments, the plantar plates and, at the hallux, the two sesamoids with the tendons attached to them.
- Palpation
- The first metatarsal head is palpable as a bump on the medial border; the joint line sits just distal to it. The sesamoids lie plantar to that head and are point tender in sesamoiditis.
- Clinical
- Hallux valgus is the best known deformity: the toe deviates laterally, the head medially, and the sesamoids stay behind. Hallux rigidus is osteoarthritis of the same joint with loss of extension in particular, shifting roll-off to the lateral border. Metatarsalgia usually sits under the second and third heads.
- Source
- Speciële anatomie van het houdings- en bewegingsapparaat (HU, 2013); BOKS anatomie WSH (HU, 2025)