Bunions are painful bony bumps; it develops on the inside foot at the big toe joint. A bunion is associated with a hallux valgus. Hallux valgus is a condition of the big toe that drifts toward the smaller toes and outside of the foot. Your Foot Clinic helps diagnose the severity of bunions and would suggest bunion treatment if needed.
Causes of bunions
Bunions are very common in men and women. The foot problem may run into families, in short, hereditary. People born with bone alignment abnormality in the feet are likely to form a bunion. The development of bunions can be due to wearing narrow-tied or high-heeled shoes.
Bunions may become painful when the bump gets worse. An extra bone and fluid-filled sac grows at the big toe’s base. Bunions are caused by prolonged pressure placed on the feet, compressing the big toe and pushing to the second toe. The condition becomes painful because the extra bone will grow, and the base of the big toe meets the foot.
Symptoms of a bunion
- There are several symptoms of a bunion, such as:
- Red and thickened skin inside the edge at the big toe’s base
- A bony bump decreases movement on the toe site area
- The pain over the joint, and pressure from shoes make worse
- The big toe will turn outward towards the other toes that might cross over the second toe
- Hardship wearing regular shoes
Bunions make you face problems finding shoes fitted to the foot or shoes that don’t cause pain.
Examinations and tests
Your Foot Clinic diagnoses a bunion by checking it. The abnormal angle will be shown by the foot x-ray, bunions located between the big toe and the foot. Arthritis will be detected as well.
Bunion treatment
When bunions start to develop, foot care is needed. You can perform the following treatment:
Wear wide-toed shoes. It can often solve the problem. It prevents them from needing more treatment.
- Wear foam pads or felt on your foot to protect bunions or devices called spacers. Spacers will separate the first toes from the second toes.
- Cut a hole in your pair of old shoes to give comfort while you are at home
- Talk to a foot clinic whether you need inserts for flat feet correction
- Stretch the calf muscle of the leg to have better alignment of the feet
- If bunions get worse and become more painful, surgery may help
Surgery for a bunion is called a bunionectomy. A bunionectomy is a surgical procedure that realigns the toe and bony bump removal. For bunion treatment, there are over 100 different surgeries. You can discuss it with a foot specialist who is an expert on foot problems and would suggest you the best treatment for your bunion problem.
