Bunion Specialist

What is a bunion?

Bunions are foot deformities that typically affect your big toe joint. In some cases, a bunion can occur in your baby toe joint, which is called a bunionette. While anyone can have a bunion, they’re more common in women.

A bunion is easy to recognize because of the distended joint of the big toe. As the joint becomes misaligned, it grows larger and protrudes out from the side of your foot. Eventually, your big toe begins turning and pressing against or overlapping your second toe.

There are two types of bunions: positional (mild) and structural (severe). Positional bunions are the result of new bone growth, while structural bunions are due to the toe joint shifting out of position. You can have both positional and structural bunions.

What causes bunions?

Numerous factors may contribute to bunion formation, including:

• Heredity
• Incorrect foot mechanics
• Congenital foot deformities
• Joint damage or an injury

Poorly fitting or high-heeled shoes don’t cause bunions, but they can make them worse.

What are the symptoms of a bunion?

Bunions can cause various symptoms depending on their severity, including:

• Pain and redness
• Tenderness and swelling
• Reduced mobility in your big toe

Because bunions change the structure of your feet, pressure and friction can also increase in some areas, leading to calluses and corns. When you have a bunion, it may be difficult to find shoes that fit well.

How are bunions treated?

Dr. Rambacher offers surgical and nonsurgical bunion treatments, depending on the severity of your condition.

For mild bunions, he might recommend custom-made orthotic inserts to correct your foot mechanics, as well as pain relievers or steroid injections to reduce discomfort and inflammation.

If your bunions are painful and severe, Dr. Rambacher, a Fellow of the American Board of Podiatric Surgery, provides surgical treatments that shave away the excess bone of the bunion and also may include:

• Correcting the toe joint by releasing tight tendons
• Realigning the big toe joint by tightening tendons and ligaments
• Removing bone from behind the big toe joint and repositioning it to correct alignment

Bunion surgery not only relieves your pain, it restores the visual aesthetics of your feet.

Learn more about bunion treatments available at Podiatry Hotline Inc., call or schedule an online today.

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