10 Step Guide for Treating Bunion Pain
Bunions are those painful bony bumps on the inside of your foot at the joint of your big toe. Your genetics and lifestyle both are responsible for developing a bunion. Mostly bad choices of footwear are the culprit behind bunion. Continuously wearing tightly fitted and narrow footwear makes the bunion worse and more painful.
WILL MY BUNION GO AWAY ON ITS OWN?
Unfortunately, it won’t. But the good news is that if your bunion is not painful, you might not require surgery. There are certain ways to prevent the pain and keep them from getting worse.
If you’re a woman, you’re at a much higher risk of developing a bunion. This is because women normally wear tight and narrow shoes or high heels. It puts pressure on the outside of the toe and gradually pushes it inwards.
Over time, you will grow a painful bump at the outer edge of your foot and you develop a bunion. This is the beginning of a bunion which will look like this:
If your bunion looks like this, you can follow few simple steps to get relief from the bunion and avoid further complications.
10 STEP GUIDE FOR BUNION PAIN RELIE
1. Wear wide footwear
As bunions are formed by wearing narrow or ill-fitting shoes, you should start wearing wide footwear. Wearing narrow footwear pushes your big toe in and puts direct pressure on the bunion region, causing swelling and redness. Avoid too tight and narrow fitted footwear and buy bunion footwear with a wide toe box to provide space to your toe.
2. Get better arch support in your shoes
Often people with bunion have unstable foot arches. Wearing footwear with arch support helps to correct the arch related problem and transfers the pressure away from the bunion area. For better results, you should try custom orthotics specially designed for your feet size.
3. Size shoes by comfort no the number
Footwear of the same size made by different manufacturers can be slightly different in the size. Put your feet’s comfort first, not your usual foot size. Always try the footwear before buying it. With proper footwear, you can prevent bunions.
4. Stop wearing slippers at home and wear sandals with arch support instead
Do not wear narrow flip flops or house slippers without any arch support. They add additional pressure on the big toe joint and push the big toe inward. Wear sandals with arch support to reduce pressure on the bunion.
5. Wear socks designed to reduce friction and add cushion
For bunions, cotton socks are not a good option. They cause a higher amount of friction around the bunion area. Try wearing compression socks which help to avoid friction.
6. Wear a protective pad to reduce pressure on the bunion
Bunion pads are a good option for relieving pressure away from the affected joint. It reduces irritation while wearing shoes.
7. Use a toe separator
Using a toe separator can prevent your first and second toes from adjoining against each other. It is a great choice for the deviated big toe. This won’t heal your bunion but it will help you to keep your toe joints straight and you can get relief from the pain.
8. Ice the bunion for at least 10 minutes every night
The constant pressure can make develop swelling around the bunion area. Ice therapy can help to reduce the inflammation around the toe joint.
9. Bunion Splints
Using bunion splints helps to stop the first and second toes from pushing against each other. It helps to ease the pressure between toes and the pain caused by a bunion. You can wear bunion splints while sleeping, it helps to relieve the bunion pain.
10. Do foot exercises
Doing some good exercises can help you to strengthen your foot muscles. You should try toe points and curls, toe spread-outs, toe circles, ball roll, heel raise, etc.