Tag Archives: hallux valgus

Health and Fitness

What causes bunions on the feet?

Bunions are an enlargement of the big toe joint which might turn out to be painful and it is connected with a deviation of the big toe over towards the lessor toes. There are only a pair of things that cause bunions: an innate risk as well as poor fitting footwear.

There is not very much that you can do regarding the innate or inherited risk because you have this from your father and mother. Should you wish to fault someone, then fault your mother and father. The research has shown that it is possibly a autosomal dominant trait. This doesn't mean that you will definitely get a bunion, it simply implies that you are usually at a greater risk of getting a bunion deformity. This shows within the dysfunction of your foot and the way your foot functions. Biomechanics takes on a huge role in the growth and development of bunions and is a significant factor in how quickly a bunion gets worse. There are some things which podiatry practitioners could do in an attempt to help the biomechanics of the foot that may really make a difference with the long-term consequences.

The additional big aspect will be the choice of shoes and that is something that you can modify to make decisions which can affect the outcomes of bunions. Footwear that is too narrow round the front foot which forces over the big toe and pushes on the big toe joint is definitely the most crucial risk factor for getting a bunion. Combine these tight fitting footwear with the hereditary risk factors and bunions are generally extremely likely to come about at some point. The matter will be how much and how often you use the poor fitting shoes. Even though you may not possess the genetic risk from your parents, the wearing of tight fitted shoes is still a risk, but most likely not just as much as if you're genetically susceptible. Shoes are furthermore responsible for creating the stress across the enlarged bunion that makes the bunion painful. This is certainly thought to be the reason why bunions are definitely more prevalent in women as they usually use higher heel more restrictive fitted dress footwear more often. However, the higher incidence in women may also be because of hormone dissimilarities among men and women and just how those hormones change the ligaments surrounding the joints.

Interestingly, bunions nevertheless happen with individuals who never use footwear, therefore shoes are certainly not the whole issue. Having said that, within these populations the bunions are never that bad and don't become problematic. Wearing footwear means they are even worse, ensures they are progress much more and makes them painful. There is also studies coming from archaeological digs there had been a huge increase in bunions in skeletons from the middle ages times when they started wearing tight fitting footwear.

Bunions might be prevented when you deal with the risk elements early enough. The using of footwear which are broad enough to not result in the force on the big toe is just about the more valuable protective measures. If you have an inherited predisposition, then it's much more essential you do this since you can not replace your genetic mother and father. Knowing the explanation for bunions will be the starting point to stopping them.

Health and Fitness

Can exercises help bunions?

Bunions are an enlargement of the great toe joint on the feet that is in most cases associated with the deviation in the position of the great toe or hallux. They are very widespread. It may or may not be painful and it hardly ever looks good and generally presents a challenge for the fitting of shoes. They do tend to be inherited and can be brought on by wearing footwear which can be too tight. Bunions are more prevalent in women which could possibly be due to the type of footwear. They might be painful inside the joint resulting from arthritis like symptoms and they also are usually painful due to pressure from the shoe on the bunion.

Can exercises help bunions? They might be capable of, however they are not likely to make the bony enlargement disappear but they may help improve the angle of the big toe or hallux somewhat. The only way to make the bunion go away is with surgery. No amount of exercising is going to make that go down. The amount of force creating the bunion and resulting in the big toe or hallux to deviate way is higher than what any exercise is going to undo. However, in spite of this, the exercises which you generally see advised are still probably worth carrying out as they may help keep the joint mobile as well as flexible which is a positive thing. That increase in the range of motion of the joint should go a long way to helping pain that often occurs within the joint. The type of bunion exercises which can be most useful are those which stretch and move the joints through its full range of movement in all directions. Sometimes exercises to help strengthen the arch muscles of the feet can also be useful. Even when surgery is used, the exercises both before and after the surgery will benefit the recovery.