If the joint that connects your big toe to your foot has a swollen, sore bump, you may have a bunion. More than half the women in America have bunions, which is a common deformity often blamed on wearing tight, narrow shoes and high heels.
While a bunion is often just described as a bump on the side of the big toe, it is actually much more serious than that. That visible bump represents physical changes in the bony framework of the front part of the foot. The big toe starts leaning toward the second toe, rather than pointing straight ahead. This causes the bones to be out of alignment, producing the bunion’s “bump.”
Symptoms of Bunions
With a bunion, the base of your big toe gets larger and sticks out and the skin over it may become red and tender. Wearing any type of shoe may be painful. This joint flexes with every step you take, so the larger your bunion gets the more it hurts to walk.
Symptoms, which occur at the site of the bunion, may include:
- Pain or soreness
- Inflammation and redness
- A burning sensation
- Possible numbness
Symptoms often occur when wearing shoes that crowd the toes, such as shoes with a tight toe box or high heels. This may explain why women are more likely to have symptoms than men. Spending long periods of time on your feet can aggravate the symptoms of bunions.
Bunion Treatments
Early treatments are aimed at easing the pain of bunions, but they won’t reverse the deformity itself, include:
- Changes in shoe wear
- Padding placed over the area of the bunion
- Activity modifications
- Medications such as Oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to reduce pain and inflammation
- Applying an ice pack several times a day helps reduce inflammation and pain
- Custom orthotic devices
If non-surgical treatments fail to relieve bunion pain or when the pain of a bunion interferes with daily activities, it’s time to discuss surgical options with our foot and ankle surgeons. Together, you can determine if surgery is best for you.
Bunion surgery procedures are designed to remove the “bump” of bone, correct the changes in the bony structure of the foot, and correct soft tissue changes that may also have occurred. The goal of surgery is the reduction of pain and discomfort. One such surgery is the PROstep® Minimally Invasive Surgery for Bunion Correction.