Bunion Overview

Many patients present to my clinic complaining of bunion pain. These patients range in age from adolescents all the way to my geriatric population. There is no predilection for age, gender, body weight, race, or any other factor - yet they can be painful and are quite often progressive. The major factor playing a role in development is genetics. When coupled with biomechanics, bunion formation is inevitable in most patients. Consequently, their formation is not necessarily preventable.  Progressive conditions are dynamic. In this case, the formation of a bunion is just the start of a process of deviation of bones from their original position into a buckled one. This means when a patient notices the bump near their great toe, almost always that bump does not stay the same size forever. It will grow, the great toe will shift position over time, and symptoms may eventually emerge as a painful sore great toe that becomes bothersome even without shoes on.  Understanding what a bunion is, why it progresses, and what the symptoms are can be revealing. Who will get a bunion? Why do they get worse with time? What you can do to slow that progression? We will get into all of that and more.  There are varied treatments for bunions, from conservative to surgical. In this episode we will stick with a broad overview of the deformity and touch on conservative methods of management. I will dive deeper into surgical treatments in subsequent podcast episodes for patients or clinicians who want to understand more about corrective measures.  The content of this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.