How the hell to cope with bunions?!

[BunionGate]

Hey! Has anyone here ever had experience with bunion treatments?

basically I’ve had it since I was a child and it’s just been worsening (late 20s now). I went to the doctors, they initially said it was a bunion- then sent me for an x ray and then said it wasn’t actually a significant bunion and told me to live with it. I went to multiple podiatrists, tried insoles, splints, different shoes and nothing has helped. I went back to the GP and saw someone different and they said mine wasn’t that bad and I wouldn’t qualify for treatment on the NHS and sort of made me feel silly for even considering getting it corrected. Then they said the surgery was agony and made it seem really brutal and put me completely off it. They told me just to go back to podiatry, which I did, but they said we’ve exhausted all options and to go back to my gp🤷🏼‍♀️

basically I’m feeling a bit frustrated and fed up, but equally the surgery sounds awful from what the doctor said (and they also made it crystal clear I was being dramatic for even considering it and apparently I won’t get accepted on the nhs anyway)

but it’s getting worse and can be excruciating. I don’t care about how unsightly it looks but the pain is having such an impact on my life in terms of wearing shoes which cause discomfort and affecting playing sports etc.

has anyone had bunions and had anything that helped at all? I’ll add a pic below to show what it’s like in terms of severity

thanks 😬

Mine were horrific. Both feet. The first few days were BAD pain wise, after surgery but lessened after about day 4. I so wish id got referred sooner to have surgery, they were hugely limiting my life and exceptionally painful.

Images being reviewed atm

Barefoot shoes.

Good grief - that looks so painful I had no idea they could get that bad ….

Your bunion looks about the same as I had. I had mine removed on the NHS.

My friend had a bunion removed privately recently and it really wasn't that bad.

She just had her foot bandaged afterwards and a sort of 'moon boot' type shoe for a couple of months.

I have several bunions, I was born with bunions. I’m 57 and now I wear sneakers mostly.

I used to have bunions - or one, anyway, on my left foot. I healed it myself. Stop wearing heels of any description. Always wear shoes with very cushioned soles so no thin flat sandals in summer.

When sitting down in the evening, watching TV, or in the bath or in bed, just gently - very gently - tug your big toe, pulling it sideways away from your other toes, and at the same time massage the bunion as if trying to gently press it back into the foot. I would pull the toe away with my fingers and then rub my thumb down along the outside edge of the big toe towards the bunion and then press into the bunion. If it hurts, don;t do it for long. Pause and do it again, often. If it doesn't hurt or feels a bit like wiggling a tooth, keep doing it.

Eventually, the bunion seemed to vanish. But I almost never wear heels now and make sure any shoes I buy are not tight around the toes.

Edited to say my bunions looked like OPs. Nothing like @NewBeginnings77 . Don't think my suggestions would work for those.

My bunion did improve once I stopped wearing narrow / pointy toe shoes. Thank god for trainers being acceptable office wear now (in most places).

I was at the point of considering surgery but the recovery period really scared me and put me off. Had the insoles etc. thankfully Covid happened and not wearing shoes for long periods each day probably helped.

It may not work for everyone and I don’t want to “victim blame” but if you haven’t already would strongly suggest binning all heels and narrow / pointy shoes and see if that improves it.

To add also, my parents always had me properly fitted for shoes, I rarely wore heels in teens and older, maybe twice a year. Surgeon said some people are just predisposed to them

I’ve has mine since my teens and they are barely noticeable to the untrained eye but often in my 20s and only occasionally the pain has been unbearable.

How they look and how painful they are isn’t a direct correlation.

Keep a diary of activity, footwear and pain.

I never found a direct link to activity and pain level but you need to prove it.

Ask about something to treat the pain/inflammation. Super strong anti inflammatories? Super strong pain relief too?

I’m actually wondering if mine improved after DC 3/4 when everything in my feet went width wards? 🧐

I had one operated on privately 5years ago. I can’t remember the recovery being painful, just annoying as I couldn’t move much and had very young kids at the time. Not had the second one done yet. I’d like to but know I’d need about 6 weeks without any major plans as I think that’s how long it took me to be moving freely.

Go back to the GP and keep going. In my experience they try and fob you off with tales of difficult recovery to try and put you off surgery.

My least bad one looks like yours, my other foot has my big toe almost crossing over the second toe and the joint bulges out hideously. However, now the pain has decreased in the bad foot and as long as I wear very wide shoes I can manage. I work on my feet and I run every day and it doesn't impact at all. The other side hurts more because, I presume, the toe is still moving out of alignment quite quickly but I find it's usually better if I move more.

It runs in my family sadly and I don't think there's any point in trying to get them fixed because they will just move again. I do sometimes get tired of not being able to wear pretty shoes and having to wear men's shoes to get the width, but I do occasionally cram my feet into nice shoes for a special event.

Mine look much more extreme than yours (not as extreme as op’s above) but aren’t inflamed or painful at all, so I dont think surgery is worth it for me. I only wear men’s trainers and certain Hotter styles because that’s all that fit, but I don’t blame shoes - I was brought up in Mary Janes and have feet just like my grandmother, mum and son. The last time I saw a physio for something else, she said exercises for bunions are up and coming. But as yours are so painful I would definitely try a proper anti inflammatory approach (bearing in mind the time limits on the medication packet).

The people I know who’ve had the surgery seem pretty happy with it.

I have small bunions and they used to hurt. About 20 years ago I saw a podiatrist and he said that the only way to stop them hurting was never to wear shoes that were too narrow or that narrowed at the end. The widest part of your foot, where the bunion is, should not be in part of the shoe that has started to narrow. Usually this means going up a shoe size. This also means you can’t wear slip on shoes. All this advice did work for me but I have to buy my shoes from places like Hotter.

Following on from my post, apparently the majority of people in the UK wear shoes that are too small for them.

My bunion is worse than yours and my big toe goes over the other 2 but it is not often painful.
I wear hotter extra extra wide shoes and boots and sketchers extra wide trainers or mens trainers one size up.

I had tailors bunions on my little toes. The bones stuck out sideways but also into the floor. Had them both operated on on the same day, aged 15. Don't recommend that, was basically immobile for 6 weeks and building my leg muscles back up afterwards was very painful. The joints were still painful for a year afterwards and only really stopped hurting when I took high dose steroids for a different condition. Must have finally knocked the inflammation on the head.

Not bunions but I recently had a big toe joint fusion for arthritis, I am only 38. For the 5 years prior it was really very painful, incredibly achey at night and really limited my movement at times.

The op was fine, reading about bunion surgery it sounds very similar to the fusion (and indeed a fusion is often done after shaving the bunion). I only needed ibuprofen for about 48 hours, nothing stronger. Wore a boot for roughly 4 weeks but less and less.

Now being in no pain is literally life changing. I didn’t appreciate how much pain I was in on a daily basis.

Reading more about bunions it suggests the pain you’re having is likely a related arthritis or maybe bursitis rather than “just” the bunion, I’d raise this to your GP.

I've had bunions since I was a teenager too. They would be incredibly painful (keeping me awake at night) if I wore tight shoes - which was generally restricted to weddings or conferences etc. I now only get pain from them with certain exercises (lunges etc) and I'm 45. If I have to wear work shoes now rather than the trainers or boots I usually live in, I have some wide fit ones made from real leather (Lanx) and they don't bother me. I get pain after some long runs sometimes but I also get achilles pain and plantar fasciitis so I think it's just when I generally overdo things.

I've attached a photo as it has been useful seeing other people's bunions. I do a lot of yoga these days and I'm always checking out people's feet - my big toes really seem to point out towards the other toes compared to normal people's and I've considered going to a podiatrist to get splints or something but haven't prioritised the money spend so far. Has anyone found them useful?

I do think keeping a healthy weight, yoga etc has helped. I was pretty fat for a bit and travelling a lot for work in my early thirties and I recall that was one of the most painful times.

@Fibrous I really strongly recommend you going to see a podiatrist. Get recommendations as some a definitely much better than others.

She will analyse your gait and this is key. Gait has such impact not only on your feet but your knees, hips, back too. You're at an age where correcting/improving your gait through specific exercises, stretching and perhaps orthotics will improve your physical health going into old age, so really do it.

My podiatrist was amazing. She made the orthotics from scratch whilst I sat there. They altered my gait to spread the weight evenly through my feet - something that wasn't happening before. She gave me tons of advice, exercises and tips about simple things. All in, two visits and the orthotics cost me less than £300. In my case it almost certainly saved me having bunion surgery and took me from pain every day to no pain - ever! It cured the knee and hip pain I'd been having as well as the foot pain.

It is SO worth prioritising this. I feel that everyone should have a podiatrist appointment every 10 years just to head off future problems.

I'm sure you're right that carrying extra weight makes things worse. Losing it helped me.

I had awful ones that developed from age ten. Both parents had them.

They got more painful in my 40s so I had surgery. They were large by then and the best thing I ever did. I needed a wheelchair for about a fortnight after each foot.

The NHS sent me to a private hospital so I was lucky. Think the NHS consultant wss horrified by how big they were.

I have large bunions on both feet, started when I was a teenager. No pain if I stick to wide shoes/trainers etc. Have been advised that surgery should be a last resort, due to pain, and that they can grow back - some people just grow more bone again to protect the internal structure.

Have you had an Xray to check your sesemoid bones for damage? I had my tibial sesemoid removed, it had cracked completely due to pressure from the bunion. Pain free since, bunion is still there.