If you are experiencing too much pain for your bunions and changing shoes and other bunion relief products aren’t helping, then your doctor may suggest surgery. The pain may be in the affected toe or in the bunion.
Bunions can lead to several problems with other toes such as claw toes or hammer toes which are extremely painful. You cannot rectify these deformities surgically till you address the bunions too.
A hammer toe is a condition which bends towards the floor at the mid toe joint making the joint rise high. Claw toes usually impact the four smaller toes together causing them to rise high at the joint at the point they are linked to the foot and down at the mid joint making the toes bend down to the ground.
You have over 150 types of surgeries but osteotomy and fusion surgery are the commonly used ones. It is important to talk to your doctor about why they suggest a surgery and if over the counter methods can help. A lot of factors make the doctor recommend surgery for you, which includes your age, medical history and whether you have arthritis or not.
Osteotomy
It is a kind of bunion surgery where your surgeon will make small incisions in your bones and realign the joint. The incision is made at several places to fix the deformity and sometimes a tiny bone is removed. It is replaced with pins, screws and plates. The cuts are made near the bunion joint for small and moderate deformities. If the deformity is big, the cut is made further up the foot.
Fusion surgery
This surgery is suggested if you have arthritis. Fusion permits your bones to heal together and eradicates movement and pain if the joint is damaged and unable to get repaired which is common in arthritis patients. Sometimes a surgeon may go for joint replacement implants for the big toe joint reconstruction. This is done for patients with arthritis bunions or severe bunion condition.
It is suggested that you talk to your doctor about which bunion treatment is suitable for you. Also, remember treatment is only important if you have a lot of pain or discomfort. Also remember surgery isn’t always needed for bunions. If one of the doctors suggests a surgery, then feel free to go for a second opinion.
You should only go for a surgery if over-the-counter options like changing your shoes, bunion relief products don’t work for you and the pain continues. If the pain is a big problem for you, then some common treatment remedies include:
- Bunion sleeves
- Bunion splints
- Toe spacers
- Bunion brace
- Bunion gel
These bunion relief products work for pain relief and help in aligning the bone and fixing your bunions temporarily. They also prevent bunions from getting more pronounced. It is important to consult a doctor and find out which one you should use. You can easily order them online at Dr. Rogo and get them delivered at your doorsteps.