No Scar / Painless Bunion Surgery

Tired of Bunions? Wear Proper Shoes

A bunion is a bony protrusion of the metatarsophalangeal joint (MTP joint). This condition commonly occurs in the first metatarsal bone and big toe. If it is located between the joint of fifth metatarsal bone and small toe, this is called a tailors bunion.

Not all bunions cause pain. But if they do, bunion pains can interfere with exercising or walking and in worst cases, pain can get more intense and continuous, affecting a person’s ability to work.

Bunions commonly affect women, mainly due chronic use of tight pointy high heeled shoes. Men can also have bunions because of prolonged use inappropriate footwear. Sadly, children too are not spared from this painful foot condition. Heredity is the main reason why children have bunions; an inherent weakness of the foot’s structure causes the joints to deviate outwards, even without chronic use of ill-fitting shoes. 

Wear Properly Fitting Shoes to Prevent Bunions

It is good to know that a bunion is a progressive condition. This means if you have a bunion it will inevitably get worse. So what can you do if you already have bunions? The best way to deal with bunions is to prevent it from getting worse and this is simply done by wearing proper fitting shoes.

If you already know you have a family history of bunions, make sure that you and your children wear properly fitting shoes. Fortunately, a lot of shoe companies are already aware of this, and have made non-prescription or non-orthotic shoes that have wide toe boxes so as to not compress the toes. These shoes are great in preventing the progression of bunions and also prevent irritation of the bunion to prevent bunion pain. Also, when fitting your new shoes, make sure to allow half an inch of space between the tip of your heel and the end of the back of the shoe, your heel should fit snugly with minimal slipping.    

What to do if you already have painful bunions?

Visit your podiatrist and have your feet checked. There are a lot of non-surgical modalities to alleviate bunion pain. Pain relievers like ibuprofen are typically given for acute pain. Bunion splints and bunion pads can help prevent the bunion from rubbing against your shoes, physical therapy and massages can also help strengthen the muscles of the foot.

If pain persists and all non-operative modalities have been utilized, then surgery is can be considered. Minimally invasive bunion surgery is the recommended surgical approach for bunions. It involves very minimal pain and swelling, with fast recovery times. Also, the technique leaves your foot looking beautiful because it only requires a very small incision, about 5mm, the scar is practically invisible when fully healed.