What causes shooting nerve pain in my big toes?

Big toe pain: The big toe nerve pain can come from nerve impingement in the lumbar spine area, peripheral nerve impingement, diabetic neuropathy, peripheral neuropathy. You would need an emg/ncv to get more information about the nerve pain. You should seek help from a pain management doctor. You might benefit from a comprehensive evaluation and treatment.

May be not nerve: Often, this could be perceived as nerve pain but is due to the arthritis of the small joints of the great toes.

A couple things...: It may not be nerve pain as another physician answered. It may be arthritis, trauma, or other inflammatory issues. You could also have certain types of neuromas that can rest in between bones in your feet that when irritated can cause pain at point that radiates to toes. You may also have damage to specific nerves in your lower leg or even in your back, but you would normally notice other symptoms.