Can you fix your bunions without surgery? Surgery is a once-for-all treatment for bunions that irritate your foot all the time and make it difficult to walk. However, you can manage your bunion symptoms without surgery by using non-surgical treatment options. Learn all about non-surgical options for bunion treatment in this article. Visit the best Podiatry Clinic in Brooklyn at Doral Health & Wellness or log on to www.doralhw.org.
Non-Surgical Solutions for Bunions
In most cases, bunions are treated with non-surgical solutions first. Your doctor recommends a combination of treatment options to treat your bunions. The most common non-surgical solutions include:
- Warm soaks to relieve pain: Some people can improve their bunion pain by soaking their feet in lukewarm water to improve their pain. Make sure the water is at a safe temperature for your skin, otherwise, it can harm your skin.
- Choose the right shoes: Wearing the right shoes is especially important to reduce discomfort and prevent progression. Choose shoes that have a rounded, wide toe box and plenty of good support to make your toes relax and support your feet during walking. Avoid high heels and shoes that are too tight or pointy as they worsen your bunion symptoms.
- Custom orthotics: Orthotics can help to slow or stop bunion progression by adding an arch support or inserting it in your shoe. It can improve comfort, support, and alignment. It helps to improve your foot mechanics and movement patterns. You can consult with your podiatrist to get a custom-fitted orthotic for your shoes to reduce the weight distribution on your foot and lower the pressure of the bunion to walk around easily without any pain.
- Bunion pads: This is another good option for dealing with bunion discomfort and can be purchased over the counter. You can buy it in several options like silicone gel sleeves to cushion the bunion from the inside of your shoe, moleskin to eliminate the rubbing between the inside of the shoe and your skin, and toe spacers can be placed between the big toe and second toe to make them align.
- Cold compress: You can use an ice pack or ice cubes in a towel to apply to the affected area to lower inflammation and pain. It also helps to manage the size of the bunion. Make sure you don’t apply ice packs directly on the skin; it can cause a cold burn. You can do this several times a day for 5 to 10 minutes at a time.
- Medications for bunion pain: Your doctor may prescribe NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) to lower your pain. You can take them in any form, such as orally, topically, or injectable.
- Topical creams/ointments: These medications contain the same pain relief drugs found in oral medication to directly apply to your skin.
- BioFreeze: It is a topical analgesic that uses menthol to stimulate a cooling sensation to relieve pain.
- Lidocaine patches: These patches can be applied to the skin and stick there for 12 hours to numb the area.
- Steroid or cortisone injections: These injections are used several times a year to relieve pain. Its results can be inconsistent and vary among people. Some people get long-term relief, some get short-term relief. Due to its risk of damaging foot soft tissues, and thinning the skin or joint capsule, it is used rarely.
- Regenerative medicine: It is a new technique that uses platelet-rich plasma or amniotic membrane injections to promote self-healing to lower pain, and inflammation.
- Exercise and stretching: When your bunion makes your activities difficult, you don’t like to exercise. However, some exercises and stretching can help you improve your range of motion and foot strength to manage your condition better.
- Bunion splints: A bunion splint can help to straighten your big toe joint at night. It keeps your joint stretched out to avoid stiffness in the misaligned position. It can slow the progress of the bunion.
Will the bunions come back?
The answer is yes, bunions can return even after surgery because it is used to reduce pain and align your foot structure. To prevent bunions from recurring after surgery, you need to follow your orthopedic surgeon’s advice on footwear and may wear a splint or custom orthotics to reduce pressure on your feet. You may need to follow foot exercises specific to the type of surgery you’ve had and your needs. Those exercises help you restore and improve strength, range of motion, joint flexion, and extension of your foot. They may recommend hands-on techniques like soft tissue mobilization and range of motion stretching to lower the chances of bunion recurrence.
Additional tips
Here are some additional tips that you can use to prevent bunion symptoms from getting worse:
- Wear thin, loose socks instead of tight, thick socks to prevent pressure on your bunion.
- When possible, remove your shoes and stretch your toes.
- Raise your feet above the ground when you’re sitting or lying down.
- Maintain a healthy body weight.
- Massage your feet whenever you can.
- You can take over-the-counter NSAIDs like ibuprofen or aspirin to manage bunion pain.
- Try natural anti-inflammatory supplements like spirulina, curcumin, and ginger to relieve pain and inflammation.
Bunions are common foot conditions that can be managed with the nonsurgical options mentioned above. However, in some cases, surgery is required if the pain is unbearable and affects your daily activities. You can discuss with your healthcare provider what treatment option for a bunion is best based on your condition and overall health.
Need help with bunions? Visit our podiatry clinic in Brooklyn to get professional medical help. Call us to book your appointment now!!!!Doral Health & Wellness employs Podiatrists with extensive education and expertise. Trauma to the tendons, muscles, and bones of the foot is quite common. It’s not a good idea to put off seeing Foot Doctor Brooklyn until you are in a lot of pain. Our address is 1797 Pitkin Avenue, New York, NY 11212. To make an appointment, please call +1-718-367-2555 or send an email toinfo@doralhw.org.
