A bunion is a bony bump at the base of your big toe that can make getting around more painful.
Bunions vary in symptoms, severity, and treatments. The exact cause can sometimes be unclear but genetics is most often the main factor. Arthritis, wearing the wrong shoes and poor walking mechanics can also contribute.
Nationally, as many as one-third of those 65 and over deal with some form of a bunion. They are much more prevalent in women than in men.
We talked about bunions with Tyler Zinnecker, DPM, a podiatric surgeon specialist at Sanford Bemidji Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Center.
What is a bunion?
In the simplest terms, a bunion is a deformity that develops on the inside of the big toe that typically leads to a bony bump and can cause the big toe to tilt toward the smaller toes.
What are the symptoms?
Bunions can have several symptoms. The bump is often noticeable, but there are also other ways of knowing you’re dealing with a bunion.
- Pain: Pain or stiffness in the big toe or pain that worsens when wearing shoes
- Swelling: Swelling around the big toe
- Redness: Redness or inflammation around the big toe
- Corns and calluses: Corns or calluses can develop where the first and second toes rub together
- Difficulty walking: Difficulty walking due to restricted movement in the big toe
“No. 1 is that the swollen toe joint rubs on the inside of your shoes,” Dr. Zinnecker said. “This is especially true with closed-toed shoes, which, given that we live in the upper Midwest, is what we’re going to be wearing most of the time. The other thing that can cause pain is that joint wears down and arthritis builds up.”
What causes bunions?
There is no one single cause of bunions but most often genetics is a determining factor. If your mother or father suffered from bunions, it is more likely you will deal with them.
“It’s the driving force behind most bunions,” Dr. Zinnecker said. “But there are a lot of other factors that can either speed up the progression or exacerbate the problem.”
Tighter shoes and shoes with pointed toes can cause bunions to become more painful. Occasionally an unrelated foot injury can also make a bunion worse.
Are bunions more common in women?
Yes and no. Yes, they deal with bunion symptoms more often, but the actual numbers of incidents are similar, according to Dr. Zinnecker.
“Women’s shoes tend to be tighter, and they wear more shoes with pointed toes so they tend to have more issues with bunions,” Dr. Zinnecker said. “A lot of men have bunions, but they don’t have problems with them because they wear wider shoes.”
How do you treat a bunion?
It depends on where the pain is.
“When the big toe is rubbing on the second toe you can use some pads that give you some extra space and stop the rubbing,” Dr. Zinnecker said. “A lot of times if people are dealing with rubbing on the prominence of the inside of the foot, the first thing we do is get them into shoes with a wider toe box and a softer top cover.”
Thick leather shoes or shoes that have a seam over the affected toe area can be a problem because the shape of the shoe is not conforming to the shape of the foot.
“In many cases just changing to better shoes can be enough to get rid of the irritation,” Dr. Zinnecker said.
When is surgery the best solution?
When a bunion starts bothering you on a daily basis it might be time to consider surgery.
“When a bunion starts limiting your activities and what you’d like to do because you’ve hit your pain threshold, it’s time to start talking about surgery,” Dr. Zinnecker said. “It is usually outpatient surgery using local anesthesia.”
There are different types of bunion procedures depending on where the pain is. Some surgeries are relatively simple and have a recovery time of two weeks. Other procedures can require two months or more recovery time and involve hospital visits.
What happens if you ignore the symptoms?
Untreated bunions can lead to complications that include increased pain, joint deformity and the development of other foot issues.
“The biggest potential ramification would be arthritic changes in the joint,” Dr. Zinnecker said. “The longer the joint is misaligned, the higher the chance of that joint wearing down.”
What are some tips that can reduce bunion symptoms?
Dr. Zinnecker recommends shoes with good support. It follows that what is good for the whole foot is going to be best for its parts.
“A lot of times increasing the amount of support will decrease a lot of the abnormal pressure on the joint,” Dr. Zinnecker said. “The other options are wearing shoes with a nice soft cover and specifically shoes with a single-piece cover. That can reduce the rubbing. Shoes with a wider toe box are always going to work best. And with bunions, avoiding anything with a pointed toe or with heels is always a good idea.”
Learn more
- Advice from a podiatrist: Match your shoes to the occasion
- When your shoes might be to blame for pain
- The best summer shoes, according to a foot doctor
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Posted In Bemidji, Orthopedics, Sports Medicine
