Bunion

A common foot deformity is bunion. Bunion, or hallux valgus, is a condition in which the base of the bone in the big toe has shifted, creating a bony bump known as a bunion. The big toe starts to tilt towards the smaller toes, and in severe cases may cross under the smaller toes. Hallux valgus commonly occurs because too much pressure is placed on the big toe.

Hallux valgus sometimes causes foot pain and a loss of foot functions. More severe cases may also result in lateral and posterior weight shift, late heel rise, decreased single-limb balance, and pronation deformity, thus causing an impaired gait.

Causes

Potential Problems

Hallux valgus develops a bunion, which may cause frictional pain when wearing shoes and restrict movement of the big toe. More severe cases of hallux valgus may have the big toe reduce space for the smaller toes, displacing them upward and leaving them with less room in shoes.

Additionally, walking requires distributing some pressure on the big toe during a gait. Hallux valgus may prevent the foot from putting pressure on the big toe, and instead distribute it to metatarsal heads of the smaller toes, thus increasing the likelihood of pain.

Treatment

Hallux valgus cannot be fully reversed naturally once developed. However, there are non-operative treatment that can provide relief from pain and prevent the hallux valgus from worsening. Ice and anti-inflammatory medication can also be used for any pain experienced. Changing footwear, such as using shoes with larger toeboxes, using arch support, or wearing bunion pads can help reduce the friction against the bunion on top of preventing the bunion from becoming worse. Dr. Foot’s bunion pads are especially helpful in that they can help space your toes no matter if you’re indoors or outdoors, thus making this treatment even more effective.

If the pain persists, we recommend that you speak to your doctor about operative treatments.