Pain might be due to shoe pressure, hammer toe, metatarsalgia or secondary arthritis
Rx:
Proper Footwear: Wearing shoes with a wide toe box and avoiding high heels can reduce pressure on the bunion and alleviate pain. Shoes should provide adequate space and support.
Orthotics: Custom orthotic devices can help in distributing pressure away from the bunion. These can be prescribed by a podiatrist and are tailored to individual foot structure.
Bunion Pads: Over-the-counter bunion pads can shield the bunion from extra pressure, providing relief from irritation while wearing shoes.
Physical Therapy: Exercises may help to maintain joint mobility and prevent stiffness or arthritis. Physical therapists can also teach exercises that strengthen the supportive muscles around the foot.
Toe Spacers or Splints: These devices are used to realign the toes and reduce the deformity’s progression. They can be particularly helpful at night to decrease discomfort.
Ice Therapy: Applying ice packs to the bunion can reduce inflammation and pain, especially after prolonged activity.
Weight Management: Maintaining a healthy weight can reduce the load on the feet, thus decreasing the pressure on the bunion.
surgical correction
indications
Persistent Pain: Ongoing pain that does not improve with conservative treatments such as footwear modifications, orthotics, or medications.
Severe Deformity: Significant deformity of the big toe, often leading to difficulty in finding shoes that fit and an overlap of the big toe onto the second toe.
Impaired Function: Difficulty in walking, standing for long periods, or participating in normal daily activities or exercise due to the bunion. hard to walk more than a few blocks (even in athletic shoes) without significant pain.
Toe Stiffness: Decreased motion in the big toe that affects walking or other movements.
Failure of Conservative Treatment: When non-surgical methods have been exhausted over a reasonable period and symptoms continue to impair daily functions.
Arthritic Changes: Development of arthritis in the big toe joint, which may complicate the deformity and increase pain.
Cosmetic Concerns: In some cases, severe aesthetic concerns related to the bunion may be a consideration, especially if it affects psychological well-being.
Toe deformity—a drifting in of the big toe toward the smaller toes, creating the potential for the toes to cross over each other.
