Forefoot pain & Bunion

A bunion is a painful swelling of the inside of the big toe. The hallux (big toe) bends towards the other toes or even lies over them. Sometimes pain is irritating and it is often relieved by taking your shoes off. It is more common in women and older people.

Symptoms

• Pain around the ball or base of the big toe, but in the early stages there may be no symptoms.
• The big toe bends inwards towards other toes or overlaps the adjacent toe.
• Small enlargement of bone around the first MTP joint.
• Inflammation and skin redness of first MTP joint.

Causes

·        Pressure on the inside of the forefoot which causes the 1st metatarsal bone in the foot to displacing toward other toes.

·        Wearing narrow forefoot shoes. Sometimes wearing these shoes can cause pressure and bunion on the lateral side of foot.

·        Flat foot deformity can cause this problem over the time.

·        Wearing high heeled shoes regularly also increases the risk of developing the condition.

·        Age is also a factor as the ligaments lose strength as you get older.

·        Direct trauma or impact to the ligaments on the inside of the foot.

Treatment

1. Radiography image is used to determine the severity of the deformity and whether there is any degeneration of the MTP joint.

2.  Initial treatment for bunions is based on reducing pain and correcting any biomechanical problems of the foot. If there is flat foot deformity or the arch of the foot is reduced, using a shoe insert is helpful to realign foot structure.

 

 

3. Hallux valgus splint can be used to help correct any biomechanical problems in the foot.

 

 

4-  Surgery: if conservative treatment has failed in severe cases may require surgery to realign the joint into a better position.

5-  Exercise: toe stretching and abduction exercises are used for this problem can help correcting deformity.