Blasted Bunions
Hallowe’en treats and Christmas cards are decking the aisles so they can only mean one thing: winter is coming.
And for some of my patients, it’s an unwelcome time of year. Having to swap comfy trainers and sandals for boots when you’ve got a bunion is no fun at all; it’s constricting and just downright painful.
Why do you get bunions?
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t get them from wearing high heels. That said, they will make the condition worse if you have a certain foot type that is prone to it.
There are many reasons why bunions occur:
A genetic, defective mechanical structure of the foot can make someone more prone to bunions
Age
Arthritis
Playing sport
What are bunions?
A bunion (or Hallux Valgus to give it its proper name) is a deformity of the big toe. It angles excessively towards the second toe leading to a bony lump on the side of the foot. This can form a bursa (a fluid-filled sac) which can become inflamed and therefore sore. In some patients, there’s often some arthritis in the big toe joint and sometimes the skin around it can become sore where shoes, boots, and slippers press on it.
What can be done about bunions?
Believe it or not, this is the time of year that most people think about pursuing bunion treatment.
Our advice for bunion sufferers is to wear sensible* shoes that fit well (*whenever possible) and to choose wider shoes that give toes room to move. Avoiding high-heeled shoes will prevent the toe joint from being put under excessive strain too.
Prescribed, custom-made insoles can help alleviate pain so we’d always advise seeing a podiatrist over buying insoles from the chemist shop.
The only way to cure a bunion is surgery, and it’s not always the best treatment option. With surgery comes a long recovery period so we rarely find patients choose to put themselves through this just to make their feet “look nicer”. As to the effectiveness of surgery, bunions can return over time after an operation…
Foot pain can range from mild to severe and you may not suffer all-day-every-day. But it shouldn’t be ignored. Contact Five Little Piggies via our website or call us on 0141 613 1113 for an initial consultation and let us take care of your feet.