Yes, you “work” on bunions. What habits and conditions increase their likelihood?

Many people struggle with the troublesome disease of the legs, i.e. bunions. Foot deformity is most often associated with metatarsal curvature due to improper position of the big toe. Bunions can arise from wearing the wrong footwear, using only high heels, as well as from being overweight or from rheumatic diseases. Toe curvature is most often accompanied by pain, finger stiffness, and often inflammation and a feeling of numbness. Are bunions dangerous to health? How can they be avoided and treated?

1. The most common cause of bunions is wearing uncomfortable, too tight shoes, as well as walking in high-heeled shoes
2. To minimize the risk of the disease, you should be physically active and maintain a proper body weight
3. Depending on the degree of development of bunions, they can be treated with special orthopedic insoles or with surgery
4. If your family is prone to bunions, it is worth preventing the disease by exercising your toes and exercising regularly. 
5. More current information can be found on the Onet homepage.

Bunions are an unusual bone deformity – usually on the inside, near the big toe. The bone changes shape and becomes unnaturally bent, resembling a large, raised bump. The very name haluks comes from the Latin term hallux valgus, meaning “hallux valgus”. Bunions in the initial stage do not cause pain, but when the condition develops, the complaints may become much more serious.

Bunions usually occur in women, mainly older ones. In most cases, this is due to improper footwear wearing. High-heeled slippers and shoes with tight and tapered toes contribute to this. To avoid such a discomfort, you should choose footwear that will fit the shape and size of the foot and take care of physical activity. Exercises should be implemented as soon as the first symptoms of the disease appear.

What are the causes of bunions in men and women?

First of all, they are high-heeled shoes – their construction means that the weight of the body, both while walking and standing, rests on the metatarsus. Walking in high heels also contributes to the formation of other diseases, such as tendinitis, muscle spasms and shortening of the Achilles tendon. Many years of walking in high heels also makes walking in flat shoes painful – this is the result of the foot getting used to the correct position.

Bunions, however, are not only a problem for women. More and more men turn to orthopedists with this disease. In the case of men, halluxes arise, among others because of genes. Another reason for such damage to the foot is long-term sports and various injuries from years ago. Many men, unfortunately, underestimate this problem and report to a doctor only when the disease is at an advanced stage. Bunions in men also cause incorrect footwear and excess weight.

Which types of shoes cause bunions?

In addition to the aforementioned high heels, high-heeled sandals contribute to the formation of bunions. Wearing such footwear increases the risk of ankle twisting and contributes to the deformation of the foot – the cork sole is inelastic and does not change its shape when walking, and thus forces unnatural work of the foot muscles. That is why it is worth wearing these shoes only for special occasions, and every day wear comfortable and well-shaped shoes.

Slippers with a tapered tip are also harmful to the feet. From wearing such shoes, the toes squeeze and begin to point towards each other – it makes them fit in an unnatural way. When the fingers are pressed together, the bone is pushed outward. Slippers with a tapered toe, like shoes with cork soles, should therefore be worn as little as possible – also in this case, it is worth treating them only as footwear for a special occasion.

Flip-flops are another type of footwear that contributes to the formation of bunions. Although they are lightweight shoes that allow your feet to ventilate, wearing them is harmful – the only point of attachment is the narrow strap between the toes. Flip-flops are not adjusted to the size of the foot – as a result, the toes must tighten when walking so that the shoe does not fall off the leg. And as with slippers with a tapered tip, this causes the fingers to be pinched and contributes to the development of bunions.

Unhealthy lifestyle and the formation of bunions

The cause of bunions is largely overweight and an inactive, sedentary lifestyle. Playing sports is conducive to building the correct body posture and the correct shaping of the feet. And one of the most common causes of bunions is the lack of sports activity and frequent sitting at the desk.

Bunions are also caused by overweight and obesity. Too much body weight increases the risk of cardiovascular and bone-muscular diseases. As a result, it is easy to break, damage or deform – feet that are overloaded every day, the more susceptible to damage. The consequences of this neglect are not only bunions, but also flat feet and plantar fasciitis.

Genetic conditions also contribute to the formation of bunions. In this case, the person struggling with the condition has no influence on whether it will appear. However, to minimize the risk of developing halluxes, you should stay active and wear shoes that fit your feet. If, however, deformity occurs in the foot, you should start exercising to prevent the disease.

At Medonet Market you can buy specialized orthopedic FootWave bunions, available in various sizes, which will allow you to adjust the insoles to your footwear.

Home remedies for bunions

1. Massage

At home, you can perform a bunion massage, a proven method for this type of pain. Thanks to the massage, blood circulation will improve and, as a result, metabolic products will be removed – it will reduce the inflammation of the hallux. To massage, place your foot on the opposite knee. Then start massaging the big toe and its immediate area towards the heel on the inside edge of the foot.

The next stage of the massage is to perform symmetrical rubbing in a direction other than the previous one. Then you can start to caress the big toe again. When you are finished with this part of the exercise, grasp your toe between your thumb and the rest of the fingers of your hand – and start making circles with it. The entire massage should not take more than 15 minutes. Performing the treatment every day will make your pain less noticeably less.

1. Iodine and bay leaves

Iodine is known as one of grandma’s traditional medicines – the substance also helps in the treatment of bunions. Thanks to it, you can soften painful lumps and alleviate the symptoms of inflammation. To do this, just mix 2 crushed aspirin tablets with 1 tablespoon of iodine. The solution should be applied to the big toe and tightly covered with a dressing or compress. The dressing will disinfect the diseased part of the foot, soften it and have anti-inflammatory properties – it should be kept for several hours.

For the treatment of bunions, you can also use bay leaves in a natural way, which will be used to prepare a medicinal infusion. Pour about 15 g of crushed leaves with about 0,5 l of hot water. Drink the resulting infusion every morning for 3-4 days for 8 weeks. It will remove excess harmful substances from the body. Still be careful! – drinking bay leaf infusion too often is harmful to your health.

1. Ointment for bunions

One of the most popular ointments for bunions is a preparation with salt of bischofit. This ointment contains softening salts and various microelements. Thanks to it, the skin is softened and the symptoms of inflammation are reduced. What’s more, the reduction of bunions is really visible! Massage the preparation in once a day – use small amounts of it. Repeat the treatment for about 9-10 weeks.

1. Other home remedies to treat bunions

Fluids such as soda, apple cider vinegar, and ginger are also helpful in treating bunions. What’s more, they can also be treated by soaking the feet in aspirin. Still, it is better to prevent the appearance of bunions than to treat them. To do this, do exercises for bunions, which will not only help heal the condition, but also make the foot develop properly – for a good result, do it regularly.

Surgical methods of treating bunions

The bunion surgery is performed when the condition can no longer be treated conservatively. These are cases that cause the patient serious discomfort – then the changes are already advanced and progress quickly. Another criterion is also the age or work performed by the sick person. Nevertheless, the procedure can be performed at the patient’s request, but the choice of technique depends on the doctor.

Before performing the test, the patient must take part in a series of tests. Thanks to them, it will be possible to determine whether the operation will be completely safe for the patient. The aforementioned studies include blood count, EKG or glucose level. The anaesthesiologist conducts a medical interview with the patient, on the basis of which he or she determines which anesthesia should be used. Before the procedure, the patient must also consult a physiotherapist, e.g. in order to determine the choice of footwear after surgery and learning to walk on crutches.

Check:

What is bunion surgery?

There are several ways to treat bunions surgically. Nevertheless, each of them is designed to position the toe and the metatarsophalangeal joint. For this purpose, treatments are performed on soft tissues. When the deformity is severe then bone correction is necessary. After the surgery, the patient remains on sick leave for up to several weeks. Until the wound heals, it should not come into contact with water or infection will result.

1. Methods of bunion surgery – chevron osteotomy

A chevron osteotomy is a type of surgery that is performed on patients with mild to moderate disease. It is not an effective method for treating advanced stage halluxes. Chevron osteotomy involves cutting a V-shaped wedge from the head and metatarsal area. The technique of the operation also depends on the preferences of the operator.

Most of the patients operated on with this method can start to walk after the procedure – but then they cannot wear ordinary shoes, only special postoperative shoes that relieve the front part of the foot. Nevertheless, it is not advisable for the patient to walk a lot in this state – during the recovery, walking should be kept to a minimum in order to slow down the process of bone fusion.

1. The method of bunion surgery – the Scarf method

The Scarf method is used to treat mild to moderate toe deformities. Its purpose is to narrow the foot and reduce the transverse flatfoot – to do this, it is necessary to reposition the first metatarsal bone to the next metatarsal. The doctor then cuts the head and metatarsal bone so that it has the shape of the letter “Z”. In addition, with the help of screws, it secures the correction and performs a treatment on soft tissues.

After the procedure, the foot is swollen. The swelling will decrease over weeks or months. What’s more, it may be visible for more than six months. The footwear will become too tight after the operation. During the operation, the patient receives a dose of intravenous antibiotics. It is worth knowing that infection may occur during the operation.

1. Ludloff’a Osteotomy

It is used to correct moderate to severe hallux valgus deformity. During the procedure, the doctor also aligns the big toe by loosening the joint capsule on the outside of the big toe. Then, on the inside of the foot component in question, the doctor tightens the joint capsule. The method was first described by Dr. Ludloff.

The procedure involves making an incision on the foot – on its upper or inner side. This makes it possible to expose a long bone leading to the big toe. This allows the bone to be exposed and an oblique incision to be made. Before the operation is completed, a screw is placed in the foot, but it is not tightened too much, otherwise the bone would not be held in the correct position.

What is the pharmacological treatment of bunions?

Pharmacological treatments for bunions are gels and ointments, which are prescribed by your doctor. When the deformity causes great pain, the patient should receive anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs. In some cases, it will also be advisable to receive an injection of steroids. A referral to physical therapy will also be helpful. If these measures do not bring the expected result, then the next step is usually surgery.