Bunions – Very useful tips to alleviate them!

Do bunions on the feet bother you? Do you know what the main reasons why they appear? This feet deformity’s very common and, in addition of anti-aesthetic, it usually causes inconveniences and irritation. On today’s post, learn all the details about bunions and how to alleviate the pain!

On the EscapeShoes blog, we already published before a couple of posts related to show off a pair of pretty feet during the summer: the one about calluses on the toes and the post about nail fungi. Do you remember? If you still hadn’t had the chance to read them, do it now. It’s worth it! Today, we’ll talk about what bunions are, why they appear and some simple treatments to calm the inconveniences that they provoke. The’re going to be three themes that’ll be very useful for the summers still to come.

What are bunions?

The scientific term that’s used to call a bunion is hallux valgus. It consists of a bone deformation where the big toe’s deviated outwards, due to a growth on its base. In turn, it provokes the first metatarsal to rotate towards the mid line of the body. This way, the ligaments located around and the muscles that originate on the leg and hold the foot are affected, thus provoking difficulties on the movement of the joint.

It can also occur on the lateral side of the foot, i.e. on the fifth metatarsal. In this less usual case, it’s usually called tailor’s bunion.

Causes that form them?

The abnormal weight and movements as you walk make the different bone segments start deforming.

For that, there are different causes:

– Hereditary and genetic. Usually, they start to appear around 30-40 years old. So, when they appear during adolescence, it’s justified with that it can be hereditary from parent to child. It’s important to clarify that it’s not the deformity that’s directly inherited, but the foot’s shape and performance.

– Type of shoes. This’s the main cause for the deformity! The shoes that have a more pronounced toecap, tend to twist the big toe inwards. With this deformation, it’s very evident that the extended use can provoke hallux valgus. On the other hand, taking into consideration that the best way for the human foot to develop correctly is to be barefoot, high-heeled shoes can influence this deformity. However, it’s not so determinate, since shoes with a narrow tip, even without a heel, are more prone to bunions. That is one of the reasons why they appear more often on women than on men, since the design of women’s shoes is less appropriate than men’s.

– Hormonal factor. As we know, there are hormonal differences between both genders, and the elasticity on the ligaments and tissues is usually greater on women. If to this we add the strengths and weights that are exerted on the feet during pregnancy and the increase of the laxity during menopause, the probabilities that they occur on the female gender increase. After these stages, some women realize that they have hallux valgus or that the deformity has increased. However, it’s important that you know that this not always happens!

What are the symptoms?

– Bone deformity. Shoes usually adopt that shape over time.

– Pain provoked by the pressure and the friction on the area with the shoes.

– Inflammation, redness and possible infections on soft areas. Some calluses may also appear.

– Limited movement on the big toe.

Treatment.

The diagnosis is confirmed through radiographies, where you can see the deviation of the bone and also the presence of arthroses. The orthopaedic surgeon and the podiatrist are the two professions responsible for the treatment. As you might imagine, there are several methods to take care of the bunions and to alleviate their symptoms.

– Padding. Leaving the affected area more padded helps to alleviate the pain. You can use bandages to help to keep the foot in a normal position. And apply ice several times a day can also reduce inflammation.

– Preventive treatment. It’s applied when the deformity is in an initial stage and the joint pain does not justify a surgical treatment. The use of insoles and prostheses are frequent to correct the toe deviation. It’s very important to follow it with orthopaedic shoes that’re wide on the front to prevent pressure.

– Medication and physiotherapy. It’s frequent to prescribe anti-inflammatories or cortisone. Massages and ultrasound therapy are very useful to correct the deformity.

– Surgical treatment. It’s appropriate when it’s necessary to improve the foot’s performance due to the fact that the pain and the arthroses affect the locomotion system, like knee or hip pain. There’re different surgical techniques that’ll be evaluated according to the surgeon’s criteria, which also can make supports to prevent the reappearance of bunions. Always prevent performing the surgery for aesthetic proposes.

Homemade remedies.

As always, in this type of post related with usual feet infections, we want you to know how to use some more accessible remedies. They’ll be a big help to you to alleviate the pain and the inflammation. Here we go!

– Lavender massages. Place 100 grams of lavender in 3 / 4 litres of sunflower oil and heat it up for 2 hours in water bath. Strain the lavender, place other 100 grams and repeat the operation. After these two hours, strain the lavender again and keep the oil to massage with some drops every night. You can replace the lavender with arnica leaves.

– Apply heat with an electric blanket during 15 minutes.

– Place your feet on salt water during 10 minutes.

– Rug the bunion with lemon or with onion several times a day.

– Place a garlic clove or a slice over the bunion and hold it with tape, in order to keep it on throughout the entire night.

What do you think? Dare yourself to do these really simple procedures and tell us if they’ve worked! And… do not miss the next post! On it, we’ll talk about the shoes that a person very close to us chooses, who has bunions problems on the feet. Should we give you some hints? They’re shoes that you can buy at EscapeShoes! Do not miss it!