Hallux valgus (Bunion): General facts
- Significantly more common in females
- There is a genetic predisposition (70% have family history)
- Shoewear (ie high heels and narrow shoes) influences the development of bunions by pushing against your big toe
- This stretches out the soft tissue over time
- A bunion has three components:
- Angular deformity (zig-zag) between the big toe metatarsal and big toe proximal phalanx
- Overgrowth of the metatarsal bone on the inside of the foot (medial eminence)
- Widened angle between the first and second metatarsal
- Patients often get pain on the inside of the foot with shoes and shooting pain from irritation of a small nerve near the bunion
- If left untreated, it can cause deformity and pain in the smaller toes
Non-operative Treatment of Hallux valgus (bunion)
- Should be tried with all bunions
- Anti-inflammatories (Motrin, Alleve, Advil)
- Wide toe box shoes
- Various pads that prevent rubbing against the shoes
- No non-surgical way to reverse the bunion
Operative Treatment of Hallux valgus (bunion)
- Surgery is recommended in patients with:
- Continued pain despite non-surgical treatment
- Rapidly progressive deformity
- Painful changes in the smaller toes
- Surgery should not be performed for cosmetic reasons
- Bunions can be corrected in many ways but all procedures are similar in that you:
- Release the soft tissue contracture
- Make cuts in the bone to realign the bunion
- Hold the correction with screws and/or plates
- The specific bunion procedure best for you is dictated by subtle findings in your exam or X-ray
