If untreated, a bunion can ultimately lead to a more serious arthritic condition of the joint or to a serious dislocation of the great toe causing overlapping or underlapping of the big toe onto the 2nd toe. This problem has the medical name of Hallux Abduto Valgus. Even a mild bunion can make you walk improperly, which in turn can lead to pains of your arch, leg and or back.
After treating patients for over a third of a century I feel the number one reason for a person to have bunions is due to a Morton's Toe caused by Inheritance. We inherit our feet from our parents the same way we inherit many other traits. If mom or dad had a foot that was prone to forming bunions, you will have the tendency to acquire the same type of foot. It is not usual to see three generations of a family with the same type of bunion problems. To a much lesser extent poor posture and ill-fitting shoes may also be responsible for the formation of a bunion.
Another type of bunion which some patients experience is what is known as a TAILOR'S BUNION or Bunionette. It is located on the opposite side of the foot where bunions normally appear, around the little toe joint, and emerges as something of a smaller bump, then the regular bunion.
In its early stages, the measures for relieving bunion pain at home are relatively uncomplicated. Warm water foot soaks may bring considerable, although transitory relief, as does cutting shoes out over the bunion.
If conservative measures do not relieve the pain and deformity, it may be time to refer your bunion problem to your podiatrist. Please do not assume foot surgery is automatically needed to treat bunion problems. In fact foot surgery for bunions should always be a last resort. There are many ways to treat them without surgery.
Such treatments as Physical Therapy, Orthotics, padding and strapping (to treat the Morton's Toe), and medications have proven to be some of the highly successful non-surgical treatments used in the Ambulatory Foot Clinic to treat bunions.