One of the most common foot conditions people suffer from is bunions. Having one can make exercise, playing sports, or just going for a walk a painful experience. But don’t worry! There are several things you can do to decrease the discomfort and prevent your bunion from getting worse.

What Are Bunions?

A bunion forms when the bone or tissue at the bottom joint of the big toe moves out of place. Years of pressure on the joint can force the big toe to bend toward the others, which causes the bunion on the joint. Since this joint at the base of the big toe carries much of your weight, it can cause discomfort and pain.

What You Can Do About Bunions?

Unfortunately, bunions will not go away on their own, but there are several things you can do to ease the pain and prevent it from getting worse.

Try these tips:

• Avoid narrow shoes. Try wearing wide shoes that provide adequate toe room to reduce pressure on the big toe.
• Try bunion pads to reduce friction.
• Use ibuprofen. Anti-inflammatory drugs can help with pain and inflammation.
• Try to lose weight.
• Use an ice pack to reduce pain and inflammation.

 

If after all this you are still experiencing a great deal of pain you may want to consider surgery to remove the bunion.

You can count on the foot doctors at Foot & Ankle Specialists, PC to provide fast relief for your feet using a full range of both conservative and surgical therapies. Our expert team, including board-certified podiatrists Dr. Scott E. Hughes, Dr. Greg P. Vogt, and Dr. Christine I. Tumele, serves patients of all ages with state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment technologies including onsite digital x-ray, ultrasound, diabetic shoes, and digital scanning for custom orthotics.

For any questions or to make an appointment, please contact us at one of our Southeast Michigan facilities in Monroe (734-241-0200) and Lambertville (734-856-8900) in Bedford and Monroe counties).

We also offer convenient house calls Monday through Thursday, so give us a call!